Chronicles: Life of a Bennett Witch
by Fiction-stalker supreme
Summary: I'm not dealing well. I try and try, but it's harder every day to function. She took something from me and the only thing I can think about is revenge. But how will that even work when she's stronger than me, more knowledgeable and above all she knows all I know. OC SI Continuation of Tales of Micah Bennett.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. I do not own the rights to this work and no profit is being made from this particular work.

AN: If you've seen this first I suggest going to read The Tales of Micah Bennett first or much of this story won't make sense. The reason why I decided to repackage this story are explained in the last chapter of that story.

1-01

There was a knock on my door and for a moment I started, feeling my heart beating faster before I calmed myself. The first night back and there was still the effect that the walls were closing around on me, that a witch of sufficient power could unravel the work I'd done and get at me. After all, it had been proven before that even with my knowledge I still wasn't powerful enough.

Another knock interrupted me from my thoughts.

"Come in," I said and at the phrase the Boundary spell in my room flickered, turning momentarily off before they would come on again. With a sense of objectivity I knew that it was paranoid—it was most likely that everyone around me knew too—but I had been kidnapped a total of two times in the same year so my paranoia was deserved.

The door opened and Bonnie walked in. There was a look about here, a sadness in her eyes that she was clearly trying to hide. For my benefit, no doubt, so I wouldn't say anything against it. She gave me a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and I did the same.

Silently she walked into the room and sat on the bed beside me, her head leaning against my shoulder. She let out a sigh.

"Everyone misses you," she said. I said nothing in replied. "He's trying not to show it, but I think Enzo misses you too. From what I heard he refused leaving on the trip that Damon and…" She stopped as she felt my body clench. "That Damon is leaving on."

Bonnie let out a breath. "I miss you too, you know. They you that was sort of annoying in that he wanted to do as much with magic as possible. They you that wanted to change the world."

"I think I'm not that me anymore," I said. I sighed, shifting and getting to my feet to look out the window. The forest behind my house was as tranquil as ever, but it was a little far off because it stood beyond a network of three boundary spells, one of which was cursed.

Bonnie moved, breaking me from a stream of thoughts I hadn't even realised I was going down. I let out a breath that contained all my frustration, that was happening more often than I liked. I would get lost in my own mind and what was worse was that I didn't even think anything.

"I still want to learn. I still want to change the world…but," I let out another breath. "It's all tangled in anger and the need for revenge, not mentioning the fear that Klaus is no doubt on his way to Mystic Falls since he's received the message."

"Don't think about that right now," said Bonnie. "What's important is thinking about you." She walked to my side and gave me a hug. It felt a little better, a place in my subconscious calming at the touch. "I know you don't like the idea," she said, her voice hesitant, "but I'm finding this time around I have to insist. You have to talk to someone."

I turned, feeling the urge to say automatically no but Bonnie's expression stalled me.

She continued, "Dad and I have been looking around for the last couple days. Looking for someone who could help you who always knows about the supernatural and we found him. Atticus Shane."

My expression flickered.

"You know him?" said Bonnie, though it sounded more like a question.

"Yeah. He was married to one of Grams' students," I told her, which was true. This could be my chance to actually do something. Since Shane's wife had died he would no doubt be looking for a way to bring her back from the Other Side, something that would eventually lead him to Silas.

Right now I couldn't have Silas out and about, which meant I could speak to him about stopping all of that. I was a Bennett witch, after all, and I was powerful and knowledgeable enough that if I put my mind to it, opening something like a door to the Other Side was feasible.

"Then he's perfectly qualified for this," Bonnie continued, unaware of my thoughts. "What she did to you was…" She stopped again because even mentioning _her_ in a roundabout way spooked me. It spurred up those feelings of hate and that need for revenge.

"You need to work it out so that it doesn't colour what you do," said Bonnie. "People have gone dark for less."

"Okay," I said, let out a huff that I hoped sounded genuine. "I'll do it. A part of me has always wondered if the whole talking thing actually helps."

Bonnie smiled, this time it reached her eyes. Ulterior motives aside it was nice when my sister smiled.

"Okay," she said. "Now for something else. I've invited everyone to Grams' place for breakfast today. Everyone we know. They should be going soon and you should really come."

I felt my heart starting to beat faster, the world around me starting to shake at the consideration that I might have to leave my protections to go outside. I took a breath, closing my eyes and imagining a tranquil ocean before I pushed down the feelings of fear. I even went so far as creating another mental me that managed to convince me that with a sufficiently powerful witch, inside was just as dangerous as outside.

"Okay," I said, though my voice broke in the middle of that one word.

"Shower and meet up in fifteen minutes?" she said and I nodded.

I quickly went about my morning ablutions, the process becoming slower the closer I got to completion. But it had to end and I had to go out of the house to the car. It stood just out of the property and there were already two people inside: Enzo was in the driver's seat while Jeremy sat in the backseat next to the seat I would be taking up.

The feelings that the worlds was closing in abated at that.

I got into the car, greeted by a smile from Jeremy and a nod from Enzo before we made our way to Grams'. I couldn't help but wonder how she felt that her house was now a vampire's den of all things. It was one of the few places in the entire town which every vampires was invited to and there were no magical protections to protect it—then again there was nothing magical about the house save that its dimensions were off for some reason.

Was she metaphorically turning in her grave?

When I'd spoken to her, she hadn't mentioned it, instead telling me to watch myself. When she'd spoken to Bonnie she'd told us both to be careful and think about slowing down. And when the ancestors had been talking to Jared it had been a warning that what we were doing was highly irregular and that he should consider himself walking on a thin line.

Blustering, I'd told him. Going on to say that if the ancestors tried anything to him or any others we invited into the coven then they would lose what they most wanted: Descendants from a purely Bennet side of the family.

It wasn't a long drive and within minutes the car had driven up the driveway and was stopping. My father was already beside the front door and giving Bonnie and me hugs as we exited. He didn't say much, didn't console me nor inquire to how I was feeling which I found okay. I really didn't want to be asked those questions because it was more likely that not that I would lie.

There were more people that I would have thought. Caroline and her family were here, Stefan and Elena were in one corner talking amongst themselves—Elena gave me a smile when she saw me but she didn't venture closer, she was still sore about me breaking her legs, not that I blamed her. Tyler was even here, him along with his uncle, Mason, Jules and three other werewolves I'd met in passing while fixing the wards on the Lockwood Estate.

"Jared," I said. "You're here too? Won't your brother—?"

"He's going to be fine," said Jared. "And anyway I'm not going to miss this. Free breakfast and mingling with a new supernatural species. Brother dearest knows I wouldn't forgive him if he kept me away from this."

I looked at Tyler at the mention of that. He was a vampire-werewolf hybrid. Katherine had abused a particular loophole that made him transform into a wolf even though he was technically undead. It had been unstable at first, drawing in too much power and unfortunately just drinking Elena's blood hadn't worked to fill that.

But with our new found power we'd anchored Tyler to Stefan—it had been fun explaining that the man was too a doppelganger—and had the former of the two active as a generator to keep the other from wasting away. Until we understood Tyler's transformation in detail Bonnie, Jared, Lucy and I had come to conclusion that it was better in the long run if we didn't let the other hybrids be turned by Tyler.

All in all, the morning was actually nice. Being amongst friends working to dim the paranoia if only a little. But it was still there, still hanging over my shoulder like a predator. That another witch would be attracted by the knowledge I had and take it from me without my permission.

I needed to act, become stronger and ward off others by showing them that coming after me would be the worst idea they could think off.

When the breakfast _thing_ had ended and people were beginning to Peter out I stopped a few people. Among them were my coven, the vampires old enough to matter, the werewolves and hybrid and some humans.

"I think we need to start talking about the Originals," I said, standing in front of them all in Gram's living room. "Because already they're making plans and soon they'll be descending on Mystic Falls."

"How much do you know about them?" asked Mason Lockwood, the word choice making Jeremy snort. The older man gave the vampire a questioning look.

"Micah tends to know a lot," said Jeremy. "That question will get us nowhere. The better question, what are their weaknesses?"

I smiled a little because it really was the right train of thought. I nodded before saying, "More than one of them have a weakness for Stefan."

"What?" the man said.

"It will likely become clearer throughout the week," I said. "After Lucy manages to find the spell I asked her to find, but suffice it to say that you were friends with Klaus. And that's saying a lot because the man doesn't really have friends."

"But that can't the only thing we're focusing on," said Mr Forbes. "How do we fight them? How do we kill them?"

"We don't," said Bonnie. She, Jared and I had spoken a little about the Originals. They were the only people I truly trusted with this information when it came to witches. I couldn't have the lives of my father and friends in the whims of bigoted witches.

But this was a different matter. The near loss of our citizens had taught us that we really needed to be able to work together, share information so that each of the 'species' in Mystic Falls was able to think of plans to save the others if things went wrong. This needed to be known by them and it was only a matter of time before the information spread out anyway.

"We can't," Bonnie reiterated. "The magic that brought the Originals into being made it so that they're tied to their sire lines. If we killed an Original we would be killing every vampire they had every created and every vampire they had ever created."

"That would be genocide," Elena said, her voice called. _Another you didn't realise that. Another you. Another Jeremy just killed people so you could reach your own objectives._

"Which goes without saying that we won't do," I said. "I can't have that on my conscious and though I know of a way to kill the Originals it's not something I'll be working to share. Matter of fact, until my coven and I have figured out a way to break the Linking spell it can be regarded that I won't even say what that is."

"That severely limits what we can do," said Dad. "But it wasn't a viable option in the first place. Then what do we do? How to we keep them? We've seen that our spells can be broken, they broke through the spells in the prison."

"That was loophole abuse," said Jared. "But I'm already working on a counter. Micah told me what they did to him when he was fighting back at his house and I think I can learn a similar spell and have Micah integrate it into a Boundary spell."

"How long will this take?" asked Mason. "Above everything else you've been working on? I've noticed that your coven seems to take on more than they can chew."

"Which is mainly my fault," I said.

"Which I'm putting a stop to," said Caroline. "I've made a list, magic that's high priority. I've created timetables they can abide by so that they still have time for passion projects."

"Well, then," said Mr Fell. "We should get to the nitty-gritty of it all. So that the rest of us can prepare. Strengths and weaknesses," he said.

"Strength and weaknesses," I said, before ordering my mind of its wealth of information. I started telling them about the Originals.


	2. Chapter 2

1-02

"Are you okay?" asked Ben to my side. I stood with my hand resting against the trunk of a tree, my legs starting to give out and the world around me starting to darken at the edges. "Because you look like you're going to upchuck," Ben said.

I shook my head, raising the other hand telling him to wait. I centred myself, taking slow breaths and pushing the darkness slowly away. The pair of us were in the forest and for the first time since _her_ I was out and about alone.

Dad was at work; Bonnie, Jeremy and Jared were at school; and Enzo was somewhere in town. He would have been here with me without asking any questions but I didn't want him here. This was more for me than trying to keep a secret from him. After all Enzo was one of the few people I trusted not to ask questions of morality, something I needed right now more than anything.

A few breaths and I gained enough strength that I could stand. Even in the day, pre-afternoon, the forest had an ominous air to it. Sunlight streamed in but the shadows cast were longer.

I took more breaths until my heart slowed to a normal heartbeat.

"It's time for the second part of our deal," I finally said.

Ben shifted, drawing his arms in closer and head moving from side to side. "I know I said I was going to pay, but if this has anything to do with the Originals—"

"It's doesn't," I interrupted. "I don't particularly like you, Ben nor do I particularly hate you. Even if you did try to kill me. I know you wouldn't make it against the Originals which is why you'll be further away."

Ben eased a little at that. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a rolled up map. Ben closed the distance between us before he took it an opened it. "I'm going to be taking a trip?" he said.

I nodded. "I've got some funds I've accumulated," I told him. "I'll send you a portion so you can set yourself up."

"What will I be doing, here?" he asked.

"There's a man there," I said. "He'll look exactly like Stephen. You're going to protect him as naturally as you can. If you're ever in trouble, witches, vampires or anything out of the ordinary call me. I've got some of your blood and I might be able to work a Cloaking spell through it."

"Why's this guy so important?" Ben asked.

"Because there'll be people after him soon," I said. "I don't like the idea of something like him being in the hands of another witch."

"I'll get on it," said Ben. "It might do me good to get out of this town before everything gets worse."

He started walking off before he stopped at the words, "I'm a witch and I have your blood. Don't try anything."

"Wouldn't have thought of it," said Ben and then he was gone and I was alone.

The moment he left it started again but faster. My breath hitched and my heart started beating faster; with every breath I took the edges around my vision closed in. I opened myself and reached out, feeling the power of the Ancestors flowing through me and the power of the earth screaming beneath me.

A sharp crack reverberated and it was quickly followed by another. I looked up and could see lines running up the trees all around me, more lines being drawn in the ground. They were more rigid than should have been a panic attack, more directed than anything I could even think of.

A circle completed itself in the ground around me before five lines stretched out, an equal amount of space between them; the moment the lines were completed circles drew themselves on the ground. I felt a rush of power flow through me, enough that a scream might have slipped through my lips had I the air to do that.

"Breathe," I heard a familiar voice say. I turned left to see Grams. "Slowly in and then out. Slowly," she said. I noticed for the first time that I was on my knees, my hands clasping on the dirt beneath them.

I followed her instructions until the edges of the darkness being pushed back. "What are you doing here?" I asked when I could speak. "How is this possible?"

"Linking magic is perhaps the most powerful of all magic," said one witch. I didn't know her, but I liked the quality of her voice. "The bond shared between us is strong enough that we can, if we focus enough, push you towards a particular action."

"We pushed you towards performing this spell," said another of my ancestors. "It used a lot of power, but as is custom, we're supposed to give you a whole heap of power that you can use as you see fit."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" I asked. All that I could have done.

"Because I know how your mind works," said Grams. "That much power and all that you know and you would have torn the Other Side asunder."

Which was true. Not entirely, but it was at least partially true.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

"Because you need our help," said a witch. "It's not much but it's something we've watched that you've forgotten."

"And that is?"

"We're always with you," said Grams. "And though we can't do a lot, when push comes to shove, we're willing to expend a lot of power to help you."

I couldn't help but snort at that, feeling resentment bubbling up. "You sure didn't do anything when _she—"_ My voice caught, unable to move on. I felt my eyes starting to burn and something starting to rise up my throat but I stamped it down.

"We were," said another voice. "The young witch doesn't know it, but she's a chasm wide open for the independents to flock towards. We tried to take away her power source but by then she'd already completed the spell."

It should have made me feel better instead that fury rose again, burning brighter as I found my feet. My breathing was still harsh but this time it was no longer the pain but the anger. I held on to it and made it mine, revelled in the feeling and the power it gave me.

I turned to look at them before I stopped, my eyes set on my grandmother. She was the cause of all of this. If she hadn't stopped me from learning magic at a younger age then I would have been more powerful at this point.

Something must have shifted through to my expression because I saw her flinch.

"Micah," she started, but I was turning.

"Thank you," I said, my voice devoid of the heat I felt inside. "It's true that it's something I'd forgotten, but I'll be sure to keep a note of it in the future."

Looking in turn at them, they nodded before each disappeared.

As soon as they were gone it started again, but this time I was quick to reach for the anger, letting it fill me up inside and letting it calm me. A few seconds passed and the edges faded, my heart returning to normal except that my fists were clenched as I walked through the forest to the car.

I waved a hand, muttering a spell as I saw a salt line and the thing broke. I didn't neccesarily feel calm as I drove, but the anger was something I could mould in the direction that I wanted, and there was enough of it that I could point it in multiple directions.

 _First it's going after the Originals, then I'm going after Bree._


	3. Chapter 3

1-03

"You know," said Jeremy as he stopped, shoving the shovel in the ground and making it stand straight. He wiped moved his hair out from in front of his face, the motion making it look as though he was wiping off sweat. "We could be stealing something _more_ than just the town's sign."

"This is something more than you know," I said, sitting on my camp chair and jotting down notes for one of my many projects.

"I couldn't have guess with the whole Cloaking spell you've put around us," he said. He moved, one second beside the sign and the next he was at the car pulling out a bag of blood and taking a drink. "So you going to tell me what this is? Why it's worth undoing the whining you put up to get on the Allied Council."

"I didn't whine," I said, the affronted tone in my voice not entirely feigned.

Jeremy snorted. "You whined, Micah, admit it," he said. "That storm things. I bet you knew it would annoy them and you still did it. Not to mention the whole breaking into the Sheriff's station."

"Maybe," I said with a shrug. "I'm a teenager. I sort of get to do stupid things and I was testing out my powers."

"Right, because that's an excuse." He sighed, pulling out another camp chair from the back of his truck and teleporting to stand beside me. He shoved the car in the ground and got comfortable. "Don't think I didn't notice you changing the subject back there. Why are we here?"

"We're here to steal the Mystic Falls Welcome board-thing," I told him.

"Really, now. Why?"

"It's better in the long run that I don't tell you," I said. I looked up and saw his expression flicker so quickly that I might have missed it. He was disappointed in me and that hurt a part of me, that I couldn't tell him about everything. But, "Until I can figure out to effectively block mental magic it's safer if only one person knows about it."

"Then it's the most horrible thing that you brought me here," he said. "We've been friends forever. I think along the same lines that you do. This board can kill the Originals, right?"

I nodded. Jeremy sighed again before he was gone. My head moved only because I heard the sound of metal hitting dirt, when I looked I could only see a blur of sinuous movement before the shovel was thrown aside and the board hauled from the ground. In another instant he was near the car and placing the board before he was at my side again taking another sip of his blood bag.

"How are we going to make sure no one notices this?" he asked after taking a breath. "It's only a short hop, jump and a skip to figuring out who took this and why it was taken."

"Short term, I've got an illusionary effect around us. Part of the whole cloaking thing. I created the abstract dimension and played with the way light interacted with it until there's an almost real illusion when looked at from the outside in."

"Nice," he said. "How long did it take you to set this up?"

"Three days," I said. "I had to take pictures. Work through the effect, getting light to just bounce off at a certain point and then embedding the relationship into the fabric of this abstract reality."

"You don't need to explain to me how awesome you are," he said. "I get it."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," I said. "That display just now. That was you showing off."

Jeremy shrugged. "It's not exactly showing off. Moving fast gives me more time to do other stuff," he said. "And really it feels normal to be in the superspeed state."

"Like me and when I step foot on the ground," I said. "It's almost second nature by now to open myself up, use Nature's power instead of overtaxing my core?"

"Maybe," said Jeremy. "I've never been a witch so I can't make comparisons." He let out a long breath, closing his eyes and reclining further in his chair. "I like this," he said. "The two of us just sitting and doing nothing. It's something we haven't done in a while."

"Stuff," I said, my tone heavy.

"Stuff," he agreed. "But there's no stuff now," he said. "For whatever amount of time that we have. Instead we can talk about partners. There's a new guy at school."

"Yeah?" I said, looking away from the notes I was making to give him my full attention.

"Yeah," said Jeremy. "About our age, reasonably good looking. We had two classes together. He seemed nice from what I could overhear, a little quiet though."

"You were eavesdropping," I said.

He shrugged. "You haven't dated anyone since Jacque," he said. "I'm looking out for you."

"And you haven't exactly dated anyone since your dalliances with Vicki," I said a little defensively. There was something about bringing Jacque that I didn't like, something I had been running away from. At some point I would need to take some time and really think about that relationship.

Jeremy opened his eyes to look at my, an eyebrow raised.

"Sorry," I said. "That sounded off."

"You still have feelings for the guy?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. I took a breath and closed my eyes, allowing myself to think back and feel. The previous me had been devastated when Jacque had disappeared, spending long weeks spurring Sherriff Forbes into talking to other towns so that an alert could be issued. But Jacque had been of the age that he could disappear with no one thinking it was a kidnapping, it hadn't helped that his parents hadn't exactly like the whole him being gay thing.

When I thought about those feeling, they were dulled but they were still there. My first reaction was to skirt away from them, not to feel them, but that wasn't healthy at all.

 _Just as healthy as letting yourself feel anger instead of fear,_ a part of me said but I ignored it. Starting tomorrow I would start working on that, I would be visiting Whitmore with Dad and Stephan then.

The important part was that even though they were dulled, the feelings were still there. The sort of feelings that made me think Jacque had been the first person I'd allowed myself to love.

"I think I do," I told Jeremy. "I don't like that I do."

"Tell me about it," said Jeremy. He let out another sigh. "What is it with us and older people?" he said. "Why can't we choose more stable relationships with people our age."

"Because people our age are stupid," I said.

Jeremy snorted. "We're people our age," he said.

"We being the exceptions of course," I said. I let out a short breath. "But maybe you're right. Maybe getting of Jacque is having a rebound."

"Does this mean we go out hunting?" he said.

"College guys and girls?" I said. "Whitmore tomorrow."

"Didn't we just talk about more stable relationships? I don't think college students will be looking towards dating a bunch of sixteen year olds."

"I'm almost seventeen," I said. "And we'll just say we have boyish good looks." 

"Could work," said Jeremy. "Consider me baited into this horrible idea. Anyway, we should get a move on. Where are we going to stow this thing anyway?" he asked.

"Haven't really thought that far ahead," I said. "I don't really trust anyplace. Between the spirits and whatever ghost might be watching us right now means that it will be vulnerable wherever it is."

"I think I might have an idea," said Jeremy. He got up and before I could do anything I was being deposited into the passenger seat. I looked at the mirror and Jeremy was moving faster than I could track, in a few second the driver's door was closing and the car starting.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"On a drive out of town," he said. "It'll make sense when I get what we're looking for. Now make small talk, I'm planning a long drive."

It was an incredibly long drive considering it was unplanned. I received a call from Bonnie fifteen minutes into the drive, she telling me that a new witch family had just moved into town and were introducing themselves. I told her that she could take her of it and that I would be home quite late from the way the ride was looking at it.

"Abington?" I said when we reached a board.

"Yeah," said Jeremy. He continued to drive until he found a diner with three trucks outside. He stepped outside and I followed, watching as he strut towards the front door before he stopped.

"What now?" I asked.

"Give me a sec," he said. He closed his eyes and then there was a scream, people shouting out _Fire!_ before they started hurtling towards the door. The pair of us stepped to the side, watching as the some of the patrons ran out while others were trying to put out Jeremy's mental fire.

I looked inside, the remaining people suddenly stopped, murmuring their confusion before the woman in charge ask everyone to leave because she feared there might be a gas leak. The few remaining patrons left, Jeremy stopped one, a tall, black woman with absurdly bright lipstick.

"Follow us," he said and he started walking towards the car.

"Have to admit, Jer. This is really creepy. Like _really, really_ creepy," I said.

"I know," he returned. "I'm internally having to push back the shivers," he told me. "But this needs to be done. Okay," Jeremy said to the woman. He reached into the back of his truck and pulled out the sign. "Take this," he said, "and in the next heavily populated town you'll ask for a safety deposit box to stop this. First give me your phone, though," he said. The woman did as asked. Jeremy took it and pressed a few buttons.

"You call that number when you're done," he said. "I'll set up some money so that you can get some income from this. Oh, and don't think about this much, don't think about its oddity. When you receive the money you'll remember that it was for a job and not think much about it. When I call you, me or him, you'll tell us where you stowed this right?"

"Sure," the woman said.

Jeremy nodded. "You can go," he said. The woman took the sign and left. We watched as her truck pulled out and moved west. "That's done," he said. "What's next?"

"We burn down the bridge leading into town," I said.

Jeremy was quiet for a moment before he gave a nod. "That should be fun," he said.

Sometimes I wondered if I was a bad example to people because Jeremy had agreed to readily to that for my liking. I shrugged though, problems for another day.


	4. Chapter 4

1-04

By the time Jeremy and I had returned to Mystic Falls in had turned from late evening to early night. My work on the Welcoming Sign still held, the moment that the car's headlight hit the area of warped space the spell did its work, hitting nothing to give the image of a sign that was no longer there. Jeremy had been driving at as a breakneck speed as he could without me fearing for my own life—to the point that we'd been stopped by an officer, one of which had been on Vervain, it was luck alone that he'd not tried to stake Jeremy but it all added together in us having to expect trouble from that particular town.

Jeremy drove into a section of the driveway in Grams' place, coming to a stop before he moved again, in an instant opening the door before I could.

"That's starting to get a little annoying," I said.

"I could carry you into the house," said Jeremy. "So don't tempt me."

"Don't do that," I said. I took a breath, feeling the darkness trying to descend on my vision but pushing it back. My heart was beating a little faster, the fear that there were more powerful witches in there but I was pushing all of that down. There was a measure of power in that I had home field advantage, even if it was in the people who would come to my aid.

"I have to show a measure of power," I said. "Things are already working against me with how young I am. There might be deceit with Lucy still being in New Orleans."

Jeremy nodded, looking serious of all a sudden. "I'll be your muscle," he said to me. I snorted at that but said nothing. We walked to the door, passing the small sedan that was parked closer to the door and entered the house.

Someone had cooked, a rich smell passed through the house and I had to guess it was my dad. It had been a little while since he'd been able to cook for me and Bonnie with the house being off-limits to him, but I was sure this was an opportunity he wouldn't miss. Sure enough he was at the door the moment we closed it, a smile on him as he looked at Jeremy and me.

"Hey, kiddo," he said to me.

"Hello, Dad," I said. "Sorry I didn't tell you about the trip."

"My fault," Jeremy added.

"It's okay," he said. "Prepared something to eat. The rest of us have already done so but yours is still warm. Should I set it up?"

I shook my head. "Business first, then food," I told him. "Hopefully this won't go too long and we'll have time to just chat after this."

Dad grinned a little wider at that, giving me a nod before leading us to the living room. There were three people already in the room, Bonnie and Enzo, and the new witches, both of which were familiar. I made sure to keep my expression as non-expressive as I could, making sure they wouldn't know I knew about them. But as I looked at the room I could see that I had failed.

Enzo was sitting up straighter, eyes flickering between me and the new witches, Dad was walking with his shoulders squared before he was beside Bonnie and Jeremy was closer to me than was comfortable. Mr Martin and Luka, though, didn't look like they'd noticed this, indeed they were looking at me while the former of the two found his feet.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," said Mr Martin. "Word of you has been passing through the grapevine and I was excited when finally my application at Mystic Falls general was accepted."

"That sounded a little stalker-y, Dad," said Luka. He looked at me. "Sorry about that. My Dad gets a little too excited when it comes to witch business." He stepped forward and extended a hand. "Luka Martin," he said. I automatically took the offered hand and shook it. "My Dad, Jonah."

"Again, a pleasure to meet you," said Mr Martin.

"The pleasure is mine," I said. I took a breath to calm myself, get my mind in order. "Please, sit." They did, moving to the couch they had been sitting on before. I took the chair Enzo had been sitting on which meant that he stood at my side just beside Jeremy.

I couldn't see it, but I sort of like the image it displayed. They both had their strength and could be dispatched by a powerful enough witch. But between them, Dad and Bonnie and me, we'd quickly had the situation under control—though that wasn't something I wanted.

"Bonnie called saying you wanted to introduce yourselves," I said. This was the first time I'd done this while carrying it myself. In all honesty I felt as though Jared should be here but Andrew had been against that, citing that the boy had homework—which he did, moving to a new town and attending a new school meant he had to impress.

A part of me told me though, that this was a control measure. Andrew was showing me that even though I had his brother in my coven, he still dictated what Jared did. I could let him have that. Did I have a younger brother I thought that I might treat him the same way, seek to distance him from danger. Something I was contravening when pretty soon—and sooner now—we would have Originals on our hands.

"Yes," said Mr Martin. "Traditions states that when you're entering a coven's territory, you should introduce yourselves perhaps even bring them a gift to show good faith. Which is the reason I have brought you this." He reached out into his pocket and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper.

He muttered something and the paper floated through the air, into my grasp. I took it, unrolling it to see names written down, about thirty in all and beside them were locations and phone numbers.

"Names?" I said, a little confused.

"Independents," Mr Martin returned. "It will sound…stalker-y," he said, "which I doubt is an actual word but semantics," he went on giving a shrug. "But I've been paying attention since I heard word of a clairvoyant, especially one of the few that are close to home. I watched what drove you, how you reacted when disturbances were levelled your way and the ultimate path you were taking."

"And that made you think that I want names?" I asked. There was another question I wanted to ask, something else in the way he'd spoken, but to do that would show the limits of my powers.

"That you want a coven," said Mr Martin. "Those names are a step in that. My gift to you, witches I've run across that are likely to accept the chance at joining your coven."

"This," I said, looking at the names, "is amazing, thank you." I rolled it up and put it in my pocket before reclining and looking at Mr Martin. "You said you accepted a job at the hospital," I said. "This mean you'll be staying here a while."

Mr Martin nodded. "Three to seven years at most," he said.

I nodded. "Okay," I said. "But you'll have to understand that here we have a different way of running things. The Allied Council ultimately sets the rules. We don't allow killing of any of the other species because we're moving toward Mystic Falls being the exemplar to a new age."

He nodded. "Your sister already informed us of this before your arrival," he said.

I gave another nod. "Good, then," I said. "I think that might be all. I don't know how these things are done beyond this."

"To my knowledge we've followed protocol in so far as we can," he said. "We'll keep to the rules in so far as we can without endangering ourselves. Though we might cast a few spells, boundaries around our apartment, fortified the hospital and some healing magic if it arises."

"So long as you aren't caught," I said. He nodded and came to a stand, Luka doing the same.

"It really was a pleasure meeting you," he said, taking my hand and giving it another shake.

"Likewise," I said.

"Dude," Luka said, an ease to his father's formality. We clapped hands and he took me into an shoulder bump. "See you at school maybe."

I nodded and watched as they got into the car and left.

"We have a problem, don't we?" said Enzo.

"We do," I said. "Can we check the house for anything they might have left behind. Bonnie, we need to set up a Boundary spell on the house, we'll do a derivation of a Lucy's spell to work on the abstract level. Blocking entry in the spirit realm."

Bonnie nodded and she was already moving to the kitchen. Dad, Jeremy and Enzo had moved even without my hearing, only noticing after. I took out my phone and called, it took three rings before the phone was answered.

"My brother's still busy," Andrew said. "Call back in an hour or so if you—"

"Stop," I told him. "Listen. Add another layer of protection around the house. Protective on the abstract level against spirits. Make sure that you don't have anything there that doesn't belong to you."

"Problems from the new arrivals?" he asked, his tone serious.

"Possibly," I said. "I'll have to ask for Jared before the night is done. We'll have to work on this of a variety of sources and I'm going to need to build a massive cloaking spell on something I've been putting off."

"Count me in on that," he said. "I don't want my brother out with novices."

"You do you," I said.

"We're ready," Bonnie said. Everything had already been set up, Jeremy or Dad must have drawn the symbols on the ground and the salt and candles had already been set up.

"Didn't find anything," said Enzo. "But we didn't really let them out of our sights."

"We'll have to do the same for the Salvatore House and back home, Bonnie," I said.

"They're bad?" asked Jeremy.

"Yes? No? They're misguided, I think. Mr Martin loves his children more than anything and one of them, he believes, works for Klaus. So they're working with Elijah to get her back."

"It's starting," said Dad. "So soon?"

I nodded.

"Then let's prepare," said Bonnie. "Move faster." She stepped into the circle and I followed. I took her hands and we began our spell.


	5. Chapter 5

1-05

It was a quick task getting the new barriers around the places of interest. Bonnie and me went to work creating Boundary spells around Grams' place, our house and after calling Lucy to get the nitty-gritty of the Blessing around the graveyard, we forewent it, instead meeting with Jared and Andrew do get the Salvatore and Gilbert houses done.

"You know," said Jared, "if you were a part of the coven, big bro, we wouldn't need to be outsourcing."

"It'll take a lot more than this to convince," Andrew said with a small smile. "Where to next? I've got classes in the morning."

"This is really more coven business," I said looking at him.

Andrew tensed, shoulders squaring and a fire sparking behind his eyes. He looked from me to Jeremy to Enzo to my dad and then Stefan. "They aren't a part of you coven," he said. "And I'm not about to just leave my brother with the rest of you."

"I'm not telling you to leave him," I said. "Just don't listen to anything we've got to say. Stay in the car, be on your phone or something while we discuss."

"I don't like this," he said. "You could be talking about the Original. Something I have a vested interest in. Something that will be working against the whole making sure my kid brother is out of the way of this."

I wanted to speak, tell him that his brother had a voice of his own but that thought made me see the hypocrisy the statement would have if I were the one discussing it. Instead I looked at Jared, this was something he had to discuss with his brother, in the meantime I had to fill everyone else in. It was really complicated, this, it would have been better if Andrew and I worked together but I'd messed that up by inducting Jared without his permission.

This was also the reason that he and Bonnie had stopped their burgeoning relationship in its tracks. I made a mental note to apologise for that. But from the looks of it she'd already moved on with the Marc guy a year ahead of us. Truth be admitted I didn't like him as much as I'd liked Andrew but I was getting side-tracked.

"Jared, sort this out," I said. "But for the rest of us." I took a breath and started the spell, one iteration and I had a boundary spell around us, making sure it excluded Andrew and Jeremy. I warped the sound so that they couldn't hear us and we in turn couldn't hear them.

"There's another store of power in Mystic Falls beyond the usual sources," I started.

"Why am I not surprised," Enzo muttered. "Let's list them off shall we so that no one's confused. Stefan and Elena, our two doppelganger pair, then there's Tyler, your witch ancestors and now…?"

"Emily," I said. "Do you know how she died?" I asked Stefan.

He squared his shoulders, taking a breath. "I heard," he said. "While visiting. Apparently she'd been burned, her and one of her daughters."

"Oh god," Bonnie muttered. It had elicited a reaction from my father as well, a cold look in his eyes and his teeth clenched together. I remembered that he'd feared such a thing happening to us way-back-when and I hadn't much listened. It was so easy to dismiss it as not likely to happen, but looking at it now, my father had had rational reason to fear because it had already happened before.

"She wasn't the only one," I said. "The site she was burned at one another set of witches a period before were burned. I'm not sure of the exact dates or the circumstance but if I'm remembering correctly this was before Mystic Falls was even a place."

"So they're looking for this power source?" asked Enzo, the one showing the least amount of emotion of all of us. Excluding me, that is. But then those were extenuating circumstances.

"Yes," I said. "The short of it. The long of it is, they're watching us, Elena in particular. The memories are foggy in my mind but I think they might just use her as ransom or they might use her to lure in Klaus, and considering who they're working with it most likely is the former."

"Elijah Mikaelson," said Stephan. "If all this is already coming to a head, shouldn't we tell the Council?" he asked. "Make sure that we're prepared?"

Before I could speak Dad said, "We should. The relationship between the witches and the Council is tenuous." Looking at him I could see that he was mostly talking to me. "You're known for doing things without speaking to anyone, things that put everyone in danger. You say we should share knowledge but as someone who knows the bulk of it, you don't return that kindness. This would be a step against that."

I swallowed before giving a nod. Personally I wouldn't have told them, too many people threatened to muddy what we were trying to achieve. They would have their own objectives, their own thought processes to achieve things and I couldn't trust that. But the same could be said for me. They didn't know all that I knew and from their perspective I might look crazy taking into consideration some of the things I did.

Stealing a sign of all things. I quickly made a note to burn or destroy the bridge leading into town before anyone could connect the two things. But that was for the future, in the now I had to focus on the now.

"So who'll tell, them?" asked Enzo. "The Council and I don't get along too swimmingly." He didn't mention the fact that they thought he was my lapdog, which was severely underestimating Enzo's scheming capabilities.

"I will," said Dad. "Keep them safe," he said to Enzo and Stefan. They both nodded. Dad took a step out from the boundary's area effect and then he was gone, appearing as a blur that moved in a straight line before it was gone.

"I think Jared's done talking to his brother," said Bonnie. I looked in their direction and Andrew was on the ground, eyes closed and his breathing calm and even. I beckoned him forward and added him to the affect's power.

"Drew said it was okay to go," said Jared. "Then promptly said he was too tired and fell asleep. I think he wants us to take him home at some point."

We all looked at him for a long moment before I gave a nod. "Moving on," I said. "Major power source and we're going to put a blessing around it. The same one that's in the graveyard."

Jared grinned. "My first blessing," he said. "This is going to be awesome."

"And it's going to take the better part of the night if it's the last one," said Jeremy. Jared deflated at that slightly but there was just enough enthusiasm that he was still chirper.

"More," said Bonnie. "Planning might take the better part of an hour in I'm generous and there's the actual spell itself. We'll have to be slow about, picking between who will lead the spell at certain points between the boundary, curse and linking phases."

"Sleep's for the ugly," said Jared.

"Okay that makes no sense," I said.

"You know, beauty sleep. That's me saying I don't need no beauty sleep. Fuck," he said. "You made me explain it and now it's no longer funny."

"It wasn't funny to begin with," said Enzo.

"Humour is subjective," Jared quickly returned.

"By which you mean you're the only one who found it funny," said Enzo.

"I'm a kid," said Jared, "and you're picking on me. This is bullying, this era doesn't like bullies so be careful."

"Consider myself warned," said Enzo. "Now let's get a move on," he said. "Sleep may be for the ugly, but it's still a pleasure to enjoy."

We got to moving, Stephan stowing Andrew in the back before we drove to the site. It took a little driving and course correction before we arrived. Stephan and I were trying to work off of memory about where the place was since we didn't have a name. He knew a path he'd taken when he was still alive and the only place marker I knew was that there was a building there.

Fifteen minutes passed with us doing this before Stephan decided to move on foot. He eventually found the place and a road we could use to reach it. From there the real work started.

The recipe we had, Lucy and her mother had been gracious enough to give that to us while we'd been working through creating the spell for the graveyard, but it was everything else that was the problem. We needed to make the spell our own, structure it in a way that three novices could achieve without ruining the integrity of it all, and all that was with the fact that we were making adjustment to make the blessing easier to create.

Stephan was the better part of that. He slit his wrist and bled into a jar, he repeated this until he filled four of the things and proceeded to put them in equal distances apart so that they formed a large diamond like structure. Jared would be the one handling the blood, it was similar enough to water that his natural affinity would help him handle how to channel the blood without much trouble.

Next Jeremy worked to put thick, short candles in equal distances from the blood with turned the large diamond into an almost circular shape. The mounds of salt were what followed, this was a more advanced form of a boundary spell, which meant the majority of its source needed to be earth if we wanted to draw on that power, the abstract quality it would bring with it. All this meant that Jeremy had placed eight mounds of salt between the blood and the candles.

"Incendia," said Bonnie and every candle came alight. We stepped into the large circle with the vampires on the outside. Witches were prejudicial, the three of us doubted they would be allowed into the building and there was the chance that them being too close might cause the spirits whose domain this was to muddy the spell.

We walked until we found the centremost place and started the spell.

I was the first to take leads and there was a power in that. When I focused I could feel the various elements in the spell: the earth thundering below us, the crackle of fire in the periphery and the crashing of waves which were even louder than the other elements, with more weight behind them. But the loudest of all our sources were _their_ voices.

I could hear them, the ancestors and they said the spell just as we were doing. A myriad of voices pouring power into one objective.

I pushed my focus away from that and instead focused on my anchor points. There were fourteen in all and the task was on me to equally feed them power from the various sources in the correct concentrations. Earth took providence, followed closely by the blood which added more power into the mix and the firm to make the entire thing.

Time passed, countless iterations of the same spell over and over but it was immaterial because I was focusing on this one task. I'm not sure how much time passed and then all at once I was done and the lead had shifted from leading to following, Bonnie next took hold, weaving a curse into the spell network in quick order. Jared followed thereafter, warping the effects of the spell so that we were the only witches could enter this place and going so far as even to shift the threads of power, building redundancies into the threads of power would need to be cut all at once to stop a flow of power to flow into the blessing.

And then it was done. The various sounds leaving and a deep fatigue setting into me.

I let myself fall back, groaning because I could feel a throb moving through my head and my joints squeaking because they no doubt hadn't move in a matter of hours.

"Yep," said Jared. "It's over. That whole enthusiasm thing. I never want to do one of these again."

"Ditto," said Bonnie. "Let's leave because I want to sleep for the next three years."

I couldn't help but agree.


	6. Chapter 6

Interlude: Sylvester LaMarche

There was a ring, the tinkle of a bell that sifted through the room. Sylvester looked up from behind the counter and almost immediately sighed, hand running through his hair. He closed the book which he'd been reading and reached into a drawer to his right, pulling out a ward of herbs held together by a ward of hair.

"Phasmatos," he started and he felt the connection, power flooding into and feeling him up. At the edge of hearing he could hear a voice whispering words he couldn't quite understand, a spell he was sure though, he knew the rules well enough to know that his source of power was trying to gather influence.

He looked at the supposed, three boys a year older than him: Abelard Leroux III, Jamie Morris and Kaleb Westphall. The boys were speaking to each other, loud and boisterous though their words didn't have anything of substance to them. Looking at them, Sylvester already knew they were going to cause trouble, but then he had gotten used to it long ago when she'd died.

"If you're going to cause trouble let me remind you that this is my domain," he said.

The boys stopped, looking at him before they broke out in a loud guffaw. They continued speaking, jibing each other before they disappeared behind a row filled with herbs. Sylvester ran his mind through the inventory, a majority of the herbs there were nothing of worth just trinkets the greater populace believed had power.

He watched the trio, as they roved past the herbs, grabbing a cluster and sniffing it before putting it back. They continued to move, all the while moving closer to Sylvester's desk. As they neared Abelard grabbed small bag and filled it with ground sage. The three neared the desk.

"This and three bags of weed," said Abelard.

Sylvester nodded, muttering a smell to open his weed stock and pulling out three bags. "All together that's fifty," he said.

Abelard nodded and pulled out the cash, notes along with a few coins. He handed over the money, their hands touching and Abelard's mouth moving in that same motion, "Somn—"

Sylvester moved faster, in the moment Abelard had started his spell Sylvester had started working an internal magic, cutting a string of connection to spells arrayed around the room all of which ended with a low growl that stopped Abelard's spell in its tracks.

"I'd like to introduce you to my father," said Sylvester, his voice calm but cold and eyes taking in the trio. Abelard swallowed, a fear in his eyes he tried to hide though Sylvester could still see. He shot a quick look at the wolf at his side, short and thin, its muscles taut and looking as though it was prepared to pounce.

"We can—" Abelard stopped, his voice breaking. He cleared his throat. "He can handle one wolf."

"But in the doing, you'd be handling me too," Sylvester returned.

"And we're supposed to be scared of that?" Jamie piped up. "An independent with no power base? Whose blood is washed down by his impurity."

Sylvester snorted at that. "I pegged the covens as many things, I'll admit, looking from the outside in, but stupid was not one of them. What's the one rule of magic?" he asked them. They didn't answer. "There's power in rarity and even though I haven't activated the werewolf gene my blood is that of a wolf. I'm more powerful than the average witch."

"This doesn't hold water to the power that we have through the Ancestor," said Abelard. "Give us the pot and we don't cause trouble, and we don't kill him."

"You wouldn't in the first place," said Sylvester. He took a breath, running it all in his mind. He didn't like this play but it was something to be said because it afforded him a semblance of power when he was already on the backfoot. "What they say about me is true, you know," he said. "That I'm a seer."

"Seers don't really exist," said Kaleb.

"You're new," Sylvester told him. "Which means you haven't heard my story. I'll tell you since _they_ haven't had the presence of mind to do so. As you no doubt have already gather my dad's a werewolf and my mother's a witch, Nandi LaMarche you might have heard of my grandmother."

"The Expressionist," Kaleb muttered.

"The Expressionist," Sylvester agreed with a slight nod. "They killed her, my mother. They said it was only a matter of time before she went the path of my grandmother. I was seven then and when they tried to take me I killed them. Your grandfather was one of them if I remember right, Jamie."

Said boy swallowed, his teeth clenching enough that lines drew themselves on his jaw.

"The truth being told I know now what I knew then, that it was a power play, that they wanted my knowledge for themselves which is the reason they made their play, even going so far as locking father's coven in their wolf forms. But I've survived all this, even survived Marcel and his try, even the remnants of the Guerrera pack. What makes you think I won't survive you?"

Abelard smirked at the question. "Because unlike them we know your tricks," he said and then there was motion. Jamie reached in his pocket just as the other three through themselves to the ground.

The wolf leapt into the air, pouncing for with its teeth barred and levelled in the direction of the closest form, Jamie. Before it could land however there was a clink of glass shattering against the ground before a plume of white smoke spread out across the room. The wolf landed within but there wasn't the screams Sylvester was suspecting, instead the wolf howled in pain.

 _Cloaking spell,_ Sylvester thought. _Similar in application to the Gemini version. Area effect which means it's most likely a pre-prepared Boundary spell. Disruption using pre-established connections._

He grabbed the notes he'd been given, flooding them with power and using the most recent connection to trace it back to Abelard. "Somnus," he said, pushing the effect through the note's thread. "Ossox," he said again, this time picturing the shattering of arms and legs. The unfortunate side of this was that the connection had been that strong in the first place and the note burst into flames.

A counter moved, flying through the air with all its wares. "Vatos," Sylvester shouted, hand pointed in the direction of the counter. There was a crash, the entire thing breaking apart with glass shattering and rubbles still continuing towards him.

He ducked behind his desk, listening to the shattering as he reached into the drawers behind the desk pulling out various herbs and setting them alight. A spell was muttered and a wind spread through the entire room, quickly expanding the wafting scent of herbs throughout the entire shop.

"Boundary spell!" Sylvester shouted. "Same way I make sure your Ancestors don't have influence here. You won't be able to get out without my say so and in three seconds I'm going to burn this entire place down if you don't show yourselves."

Sylvester came to a stand, swallowing as he saw the effect the mist had had on his father. He was on the ground writhing, small yelps escaping as it tried to move out from the spells effect.

 _Don't focus on that,_ he told himself. _They're no doubt looking for weakness._

He took a breath and focused, picturing a large square in his mind before he said, "Incendia." All at once fires raged around the four corners, quickly spreading so that they climbed all over the walls. In seconds the room became oppressive in its heat until one of the appeared.

Kaleb and he hand was moving, throwing out what looked like salt. He said a spell in quick order and the air moved the salt so that it landed in a roomy circle around. Another instance passed and then Jamie and Abelard appeared, the latter had his eyes closed, limbs standing at odd angles while the former held him close, eyes closed and mouth moving in silent words.

Sylvester's hand closed tighter around his power source, accepting its power. He felt out the threads around him, moving through the connection he shared with his father—fortified by magic—and worked to push him into the dimension he'd set up. The wolf disappeared and Sylvester could only hope the spell's effect didn't stretch even to that dimension, but unless they'd known the specifics of the spell he'd used that was unlikely.

Sylvester stepped over his desk and walked closer to the trio, standing firm even with the evermore oppressive heat that was starting to get to him. But he'd worked this place, prepared for the eventuality when they might come and _really_ start something.

"I'm tired of this shit," said Sylvester, his words enough that both Jamie and Kaleb looked in his direction. "I'm tired of the rest of you thinking you can keep pushing and not getting a reaction. Well, this is it. I'm going to make my move and you're all going to suffer for it. I'm going to bring this town to its knees."

He waved a hand and the fire parted, leaving the doorway open.

"Leave," he said, emotion behind the words. He focused more into the spell than he had but with a flick of the hand the power of the spell smacked against the circle of salt, shattering it. At Kaleb's surprised expression he said, "You have no idea what they've got you embroiled into. Now go," at that the doors open, a cool air wafting in.

Kaleb was the first one out of the door, Jamie following behind dragging the broken form of his friend. The moment they were out Sylvester let himself breath for the first time, feeling some of the anxiety run out of his system; he said a quick spell and the fires disappeared as though they'd not been even there, the heat along with it.

He took another breath, calming himself down as he noticed for the first time that he was breathing harder, that his heart was beating faster.

"That was perhaps the most stupid thing I've ever done."

There was a snort and Sylvester turned and _she_ was standing there. The woman wasn't exactly his grandmother, but pack dynamics as they were she effectively that for him. She stood on the doorway separating the shop from the house and she held in her hands a shotgun.

"You weren't really going to use that, were you?" Sylvester asked.

"No," said Grandma Dumas. "I'm not stupid. Rock salt." Another breath Sylvester had been holding in was let out. "I'm not about to just leave you, boy. I've been at this too long to do that."

He smiled a little, that relief present. "Destroyed some of my stock because of them," he said.

"Let's not kid ourselves that was because of you," she said. "A brouhaha over pot? I taught you better than that."

Sylvester sighed. "You did," he said, running a hand through his hair. "It's just that I'm frustrated."

"Full moon coming up," the woman returned. "Between your bloodlines at least one of them must be affecting you." She sighed taking steps forward until she was sitting on a chair. "They'll be coming back to cause trouble."

Sylvester nodded. "I'll need to gather power. Go out into the world to do that," he said. He let out a sigh, feeling truly tired for the first time since all of this had started.

He remembered it all even if it was foggy, that he'd lived another life before this and in that life he'd watched a show he would admit he'd been a little too invested in. But now he was here, he'd died and been reborn with full knowledge of the future and because of that knowledge his family had almost entirely been stripped from him.

"It was only a matter of time before this happened," he said. "That they pushed with enough vigour that I had to push back. They'll use this to try and take me or lock me in that place."

"Where are you going to go?" asked Grandma Dumas.

"Mystic Falls," he said. "It really won't take a lot of time, just a shaving a few people's heads, maybe getting back some blood, and then I'll work to break the curse on our family."

"We'd better get you prepared, then," the woman said. "Tell your father about this when he's in his human form. But in the mean time I need you at the bayou. There we'll be surrounded my family and they won't try and attack you."

Sylvester nodded. It was only a matter of time before parents got involved and he didn't think he could handle those.

888

AN: There was a story in Spacebattles whose summary was that of multiple characters with future knowledge of the story line being sucked into that particular story's universe. I didn't end up reading the story, but I ended up liking the idea enough I integrated it into this story as well as in a quasi sense in my Harry Potter story.

There's more than one 'clairvoyant' in the world and as for the reason right now I've chalked it up to Nature's machinations—let's not think about it too much. Which means that the 'clairvoyants' will be in the major covens that have been shown so far.

To Syed, this was the proposition and to reviewers and readers, I hope this chapter and story will continue to be enjoyed.

—Stalker


	7. Chapter 7

1-06

School the next day was, in a word, odd. Mystic Falls, much like every other small town suffered from an issue of no personal space whatsoever. It was the reason that the rumour mill was so effective when it came to information gathering and why secrets were almost impossible to keep.

The operative word, though, being almost.

The true secrets of Mystic Falls were indeed hidden. It was a messy affair, involving falsified reports, something compulsion and spells being layered across areas people weren't supposed to go to, but all in all in had a thin quality to it. At the end of the day, it was very likely that someone could say the wrong thing, or someone already suspicious could find something out and be subtle enough that we wouldn't know about it.

Unfortunately for me, I was a major part of suspicion. I saw it in the gazes that were shot my way, the small whispers people shared as I moved through the hallways and I could even see it in Jeremy's expression. Not even the first class yet and I was already tired of this damned school.

In all honesty, though, they would have been stupid were they not suspicious. The last few months had blurred into one another but since this school year had started I'd missed a lot of school: when Grams had died, when I'd been attacked and after the whole thing with…after the attack with Katherine. They were probably wondering how I could miss all those hours and still be allowed to return.

It helped that most of the administration knew about how this world worked, that they had the tools to protect their pupils. Therefore they knew I was a special case.

"You going to be alright on your own?" Jeremy asked me.

"Yes," I said. "Contrary to what all of you believe, I don't need a constant guard." But I really did. I hated it, that I could be dependant like that, but it was a truth in this regard.

"I know you don't," said Jeremy. "I'm just worried about everything here. You never liked school in the first place and with them focusing so much on you now…" He didn't finish, instead shrugging.

 _Now that they're focusing on me now it's sort of grating,_ I finished for him.

"I'll be alright," I said, a sigh in my tone. "I'll just ignore them all. Hopefully they'll keep their questions between themselves."

Jeremy snorted. "Right. Good luck with that," he said. "See you at lunch."

I nodded and went into my class and such a boring class it was. I knew all this, I didn't know the specifics of how I'd learned it but the information was still in my head. Which meant I could afford not to pay attention and still get a passing grade—average because I really wasn't willing to put in the amount of work that would get me all A's.

After an eternity, the first few classes ended and it was lunch.

"This is a lot more normal than I expected you guys," said Luka. We were inside in the cafeteria, the table on the large side because, in our own right, we were now a crew.

"What did you think we'd be doing?" asked Tyler. "Running the school or something?"

"Well…yeah," the boy said, giving off a shrug. "Last place I was at had two circles. They crafted boundary spells so no one would take their tables."

"Cool idea," said Jared. "Which we won't do," he quickly said when from another table Caroline glared in his direction. "Because we're very busy."

"And not that we need to," said Tyler. "Matt and I are sort of big deals in the football team. Our general awesomeness keep people away much like a boundary spell."

"Right," said Luka.

"Travelling around you must have run into a few interesting witches," said Jared. "Interesting spells and the like?"

"Quite the few," said Luka. "Dad's sort of a collector in that regard."

"Oh?" I said. "How so?"

"You don't know?" he asked. "Aren't you clairvoyant or something?"

"Clairsentient," I answered. "And that's not how it works, nor how I would use it. Sure it's a convenience to, if I could, know why you keep moving around, but it doesn't really do to _knowing_ a person."

"Guess that makes sense," said Luka. "Anyway, Dad is sort of a collector of magical tomes and he tries to entrench himself in the culture of any coven that will accept us. It's been that way since I was a younger kid."

"That must have been the life," said Jared and I was a bit astounded that he was missing it, how Luka was drawing himself inward and how he tried to stop his expression from becoming a glare. "Learning all that stuff from established covens."

"Um…sure," said Luka and then he focused on his food. Conversation became stilted from that point on, not getting a particular rhythm until lunch ended. From that point on, I had the particular impression that something was connected to the move, perhaps a traumatic event?

The speculation didn't entirely matter. I hadn't gotten much I didn't know from Luka and I'd been careful in what me and the others said. I still hadn't heard anything of how we'd treat the matter with Luka and his father, but it was better to lean on the side of caution and not saying anything of import.

Class resumed, droning on ceaselessly until much of the day was gone. Then, without any reprieve, Dad and I were driving off to Whitmore University. I didn't like it and the closer I went the damned place the more my mind seemed to be trying to figure out a way out of this; memories were coming to the fore, information I could use to manipulate myself out of this situation and even spell to give the impression that I'd gone.

I stopped myself though, that I was actively fighting this was bad and it was something a of a cry for help. I had to push my way through this and hopefully become better at the end of it all.

The point of arrival and then being escorted through the university to Shane's office was something my mind blocked out. I was a little surprised to find myself sitting in a rather comfortable sofa with Professor Shane sitting to my left. He had a notebook and an expectant expression to his features.

I got the impression that he was waiting.

"There's usually a point in all this where we introduce ourselves," he said. "I mean I know who you are through correspondence with your father and even your grandmother, but whatever the case. Hello, I'm Atticus Shane," he said.

"Micah Bennett," I said.

A silence stretched between us before Professor Shane gave another of his short nods. "And do you mind telling me something about yourself, Micah? So I can better know you."

I couldn't help it but my mind ran a blank at that question. Something about myself? "I'm a boy, man, whichever," I said. There was something in Shane's expression, a slight bit of irritation? Or was I projecting that? "I'm sorry," I said. "But that's something I really can't answer. I've never been able to answer that because what exactly do you want from me? That question is so vague that you could want to know my name, to knowing my interests to my hobbies or any other small fact about me."

"I'm guessing, then, that you don't like vagueness," he said. I gave him a nod at that. "I suppose that could be a facet of your ability. You know everything and so when one asks you something vague, it falls on you to fill in the blanks, and in the going you could give them more than you should."

"An astute observation," I said.

"It's my job," he said. "Observing and helping you to see yourself. Which is a little harder when I don't know you. Going back to my original question, but clearer. Tell me about your hobbies. What you do for fun."

I allowed myself silence, thinking over the question and running it over.

What _did_ I do for fun?

I posed the question to myself and tried to think. The facsimile had had fun, in hanging out with Jeremy or going to the movies or my reading. But though I could find similar interests, those were more the facsimile's hobbies than mine. Mine were…what?

Ever since my mind had been freed I had only studied magic or tried to make sure my family and friends weren't killed by one person or another. That didn't really leave any time for anything in the way of hobbies.

"I study magic," I finally said. "Hang out with friends. Make plots and plans."

"Really? And do you enjoy doing those things in that particular order?"

I shook my head. "I'm lucky enough that all those thing are interconnected," I told him. Jeremy was not a witch, but he was experimental enough in his own abilities that he could work while I worked. There was also the fact that Jeremy knew how my mind work, he was aware enough of me that he knew I was running one plan or another in the background of everything else going on.

When I thought about our relationship, the amount that I told him versus were I told other people, I was aware that I might have trusted him more than even my sister. Sure, Bonnie knew about the White Oak, but I hadn't told her about the sign or my plans to remove the bridge from play.

"You seem lost in thought," said Shane. "Where did you go?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but then my mind caught up with me, fully considering this and everything else.

"Why should I trust you?" I found myself asking. "Why should I trust this? That, right now, we aren't being listened in on? That everything I tell you won't be taken by the first vampire that sees me going to therapy."

"I've been expecting that sort of questioning since you first arrived, actually," he said. "Many of my patients, especially those who have enemies, ask me the same thing and I tell them that I have protections. My wife, when she lived, was a powerful witch with a penchant for boundary spells. She gave me something that, when activated, set up a boundary spell. It's active right now."

"And your mind?" I asked, even though I knew the answer.

"I've trained it so that compulsion doesn't work on me," he said. "I've even trained it further, so that I compartmentalise all information and, if I'm feeling enough pain, making it so I can't access that information."

"So in essence you're an Occlumens," I said.

Shane chuckled. "Yes. I am an Occlumens."

"I can't help but think that this is not enough," I said. "That it will only take the right person to use what I tell you for their own ends."

Shane was quiet for the longest time, looking at me, before something set in his eyes. "I have the feeling that you know something, _someone_ in particular that's going to make a try at that."

"I do," I said. He was quiet for the longest time before he gave another nod.

"Me? You know about Silas? About my wife?"

"I know about a lot of things," I told him. "And part and parcel of that are your plans concerning getting your wife and child on the Other Side."

Shane sat straighter, a cold look in his eyes as he looked in my direction.

"I'll assume you're telling me all of this because you want something from me," he said. "I even have a suspicion that you agreed to this session to make this demand."

"No," I said. "Or yes? My Dad thinks this will help. I think there's a chance it might help and I want that. I'm aware enough to recognise that what I'm using to deal, the anger, is not healthy. But my mind is ultimately against all this because I think I might be scared. No. I know I'm scared."

I shook my head, getting my mind in order. "I'm rambling. Focus," I said, the last to myself. I took a breath. "My mind came up with this as a defence mechanism, but thinking on it the idea has merit. I don't want you dealing with Silas."

Shane didn't say anything but I could see it in his eyes.

"He's a very dangerous man and he'll use you without giving you what you want. I, on the other hand, have as much of a stake in this as you. My grandmother's on the Other Side. She won't like me taking her away from that but I believe that anyone that would willing accept death as though it was inevitable—especially a witch—is stupid."

"This all seems too…convenient for me to just accept it," he said.

"It's certainly better than hoping to hypnotise Pastor Young to kill twelve people," I said. Shane frowned at that, confusion on him. "You would have thought of it and succeeded in doing it. This the better way out. I'm not about to kill people for getting power. I already have means of doing so."

"Help from your ability?" he asked. I gave him a nod. "Okay," he said. "Okay. I'll do it. Do this. Not plan on getting Silas. Instead I'll help you to doing that, releasing my wife and son from the Other Side. How can I help you?"

"A start would be therapy," I said.

"That, I can do," he said. "So let's begin…"


	8. Chapter 8

1-07

I was tired when I got back from Whitmore, tired enough that I didn't do much for the rest of that day and just went to slip. The next morning, though, I was more than a little invigorated. Shane and I hadn't spoken about much but actually talking about things helped—it helped more that I had cursed his tongue and hands so that he wouldn't speak or hear the words.

Classes were boring, but when I arrived at our table it was to a riveting conversation between Jared and Luka.

"What's going on?" I said as I said next to Matt. Tyler was out, the last I'd heard was that he was doing business with a few new wolves that had arrived into town. It was a little unnerving how they were clustering around Tyler, especially when a night of the full moon was nearing.

More than that it meant word was spreading on what Tyler was. It was only a matter of time before that word got to Klaus. With all this, he would no doubt be moving a little faster in our direction. More than a little scary.

 _Focus on the present,_ I thought to myself. _You're making plans. Contingencies in place._

"Magic, what else?" Matt asked. He had a sandwich that he was breaking apart before leaving them on his tray.

I looked further into the way he was sitting, for the first time reading Matt as I usually read people I was trying to get something from. It took a few seconds, but with my focus the world started to fall back and my memories coming to the fore: I saw Matt as he was as he'd been at the start of the series, the way he'd acted and the person he truly was.

Circumstances had been different then. He'd had a lot of hate and anger for vampires and magic and the like because of his sister's death. But now the same could not be said. The killing was kept at a minimum with only the _bad_ doing the crimes.

Now he was a teenager and all around him he was seeing as different people gained magical powers while he didn't. This time he didn't even have a ring that would make sure he couldn't die at a supernatural hand.

"I know this is going to sound wrong," said Matt. "But can you stop looking at me because it's a little creepy."

I can back to myself, looking at the others. The conversation between Luka and Jared had stopped, they were looking in my direction, the former with a strange look while Jared was grinning.

"What are we doing? Please tell me it's something awesome?"

"What's going on?" asked Luka.

"Micah 101, he gets that expression when he's planning something," said Jared. "When you're the target. When he's reading you and forming approaches on how to talk to you."

"You make him sound like he's always manipulating you," said Luka.

Jared shrugged and I said nothing. It was something of an open secret that I was good at using my knowledge to getting what I wanted. But that wasn't the point of all this.

"Linking spells," I said. "I'm interested in what you were saying before but I don't think it's quite so important now."

"What is important?" asked Luka.

"Matt," I said. He shifted, looking uncomfortable because the three of us were looking him. I didn't think I had an expressive look to me but the others, they were confused, eyes searching for what I was seeing. "He's unprotected. Since Vicki left and Tyler's busy with the wolves flocking around him."

"I have boundaries around my house," said Matt. "And Vervain. I can take care of myself."

"That's not much in the grander scheme," said Luka. "I've met witches who were more experienced than me and they had trouble dealing with certain vampires."

"Grams comes to mind," I said, feeling a cluster of twisted emotion.

"Okay. So what?" he said.

"I'm thinking Linking spells," I said. "These are ideas of course but I think what I'm about to say is theoretically possible. A weapon with a linking spell running through it, we hollow it out so that it collects power and transfers it to the holder."

"You're talking blood magic," said Luka. _"Dark_ , magic."

Jared snorted. "Okay," he said. "I'm going to say this slowly and surely. Hopefully it will pass through the dogma they've been shoving down your throat for your life: There is a thing cold dark magic. All magic is judged on its merit."

"Our trade spell for instance," I said. "The spell every witch is taught. Causing aneurism over and over. When I was attacked I used it on witches and I killed them. That was dark, but the spell itself wasn't."

"Really creepy hearing you talk about killing without inflection," said Jared. I could see that the same was being said for the others.

I shrugged. "I'm not about to feel guilty for self-defence," I said. "Anyway. Is it possible? Do we have any idea how we might do something like that?"

"Not off the top of my head, no," said Jared.

"Me too," said Luka. "But I could look through our tomes. Maybe I can talk to Dad and he can let you two into the house? Three heads being better than one and all that."

"Matt. You up for being a guinea pig?" I asked.

"There isn't the chance that this might kill me, right?" he asked.

"Only the smallest chances," said Jared.

Matt took a breath, blue eyes moving slightly from side-to-side as he thought. Then he nodded.

"Caroline is going to hate us for starting this after everything we're supposed to be doing," said Jared. "But I don't care. I love this, getting to stretch the limits of what magic can do. _But_ before all that, we should get to completing the boundaries around Hunting grounds. Two days and we have a large pack on our hands."

I hummed, giving him a nod and turning to my own lunch. This was one of the projects we were being employed to do, along with the prison and the refurbished boundaries around the properties that could afford it. With all this there was the longer ranged research we were doing into using links and representation to form a large boundary which might eventually cover the entire town.

888

There were two hours allotted to working on the prison. Thirty minutes of those two hours and I had my full coven with me. Mostly it was just us playing around with the abstract nature of Lucy's spell, making it so we were in a place where we achieved one particular effect and made it stick.

So far we'd achieved the variant of the spell that worked on the spiritual realm to a point, stopping ghosts from coming in. We'd noticed this when trying to cast a spell only to find the voices that usually chanted at the periphery gone. The same protections we had doubled on when the Martins had arrived.

Now we were working on something that actively severed connections on anything that moved through it, which meant still playing with the effect but throwing rocks linked to the other into the fray.

It had been exciting at first, but now it was getting to the point where it was starting to get boring.

After the two hours had passed, we had thirty minutes of free time before the next task. I went to the Grill, meeting Enzo and grabbing a bite to eat and Jared went home for dinner with his brother and to do his homework. Next was Tyler's though it wasn't to meet him but his uncle, Mason, not that I minded much because the man could be around any time.

He led us to the next section of wood and Jared and I got to the spellwork, building a boundary spell that worked on two fronts. Keeping in werewolves when we were in a state of a full moon and keeping everything else out while pushing everyone back.

"That's it done for today," I said. "I think that should be enough for your pack."

"That's starting to be a problem," said Brady. He looked at Mason, the man nodding before he ran a hand at the bridge of his nose. "More wolves are coming in. Three in the past day and there's word there are more coming."

"We've been thinking that it might be a good idea to stretch the property out a bit," said Mason. "An acre or two."

"Fuck me, no," said Jared. "You have no idea how dull this is."

"Ditto," I said. "Not mention the time we're spending doing this. It's faster the first time around but it's still sapping time we could be doing something else."

"We're prepared to pay you extra for the overtime," said Mason. "There hasn't been a gathering of wolves this large in millennia. I didn't even know there were this many bloodlines still active."

"What he's saying is," said Brady. "We don't want to turn them away. They see hope in Tyler, in what he can do for them, taking away their affliction. It would mean a great deal if you did this for us."

I let out a sigh.

"No," said Jared. "No. Micah, no. I don't want to do this. Don't force me to do this."

I looked at him for the longest time. "If I say something you're going to say I'm manipulating you so I'm just going to shut up and look at you."

I did as I'd said. Looking at him for the longest time, seeing him huff and puff, pacing a little before he stopped.

"We need the money, don't we," he said. I nodded. "And this is better in the longer turn. It means we can stretch our ability." Again I nodded. "Damn, I'm tired. I thought tomorrow would be our last session if we pushed ourselves we'd get started on the knife. But this will prolong the torture."

"Trust me, I know how you're feeling right now," I said. "But we're the only witch business in town. Except if you want to them to outsource."

Jared vehemently shook his head. "Not with the damage the last witch did," he said. I felt my heart start up a little before I took a long breath, slowly letting out. "Sorry," he said. "Anyway we should cordon off another area and get started. We do a portion and it means less work tomorrow."

I gave a nod and we started.

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AN: Hopefully I'll be writing another chapter tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

1-08

"This is a lot more than I expected," I muttered, trying to rub away the fatigue in my eyes for the sixth time. It was five-thirty in the morning, with the sun just starting to move over the horizon, the air cold and crisp and in front of us, what before had been a meadow, was now filled with tents and some running kids.

Counting them off, there were at least a fifty if not more of them, enough that I suppose it meant good security on our part that we'd noticed them come in and setup their little dwelling just within the town's borders. Tyler, Mason, Brady and Jules stood beside me watching it all as it played out, the probably even listening in on the conversations that were shared between the people on the camping grounds.

Jules hummed. "We knew word had spread but not by this much, believe me," she said. I could hear it in her tone, but looking at her I could also see it, that she was happy about all this.

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with all this," I said, looking back at the entire cast. There was a shift in those whose nature had been activated, a few even looking in my direction, their expressions shifted into something almost ugly. Looking back at the wolves that were beside me I could see a glimmer of the same general sense of emotions.

With a sigh I pulled in power and said a quick boundary spell, building something that would make sure no sound got out.

"Nothing against wolves," I said. "But this many wolves together is just calling for trouble."

"You mean Klaus," said Tyler.

I nodded. "He's coming and if we lose then it's putting a lot of these wolves in danger of experimentation," I said, letting a shiver pass through me because now that I said it, it was more real. I could picture the droves of people around me dying because Klaus hadn't gotten the perfect mix of his hybrid equation yet.

"Except that that's why we have you here," said Mason. I looked in his direction. "We've been speaking to the Pack Leaders," he continued. "Trying to figure out how this dynamic might work, how things will play out until we're sure we can turn a large amount of people into hybrids without the danger and one of them had an aspect of magic that we could use to our advantage."

"The thing is," said Jules. "It sounds a little too good to be true."

"In what sense?" I asked.

"In the sense that it gives us exactly what we want," said Tyler. "When packs merge, they get the special abilities that each bloodline in the pack might have."

"Werewolves have special abilities?" I asked and I realised too late that this went counter to what I should know. Looking at the four of them, I could see that they noticed. Whatever, if that was the case then I could just tell them that my ability didn't work like that. From the outside in, I'd already been pretty vague on how my ability really worked.

"Yeah," said Mason. "My bloodlines makes it so that I can smell emotions."

"Damn," I said, and I meant it. "I missed that." At their expressions I added. "Your father once said something along those lines but I just grouped it together with the whole super senses things. Bodies excreting certain hormones when it's scared or something to that effect?"

"Anyway," Jules continued. "They thing we can use that as a sort of loophole to become hybrids. People either join Tyler's pack or we marry into the thing."

"The girl who told us about this theorised that it would be easier for my brother and me since we're from the same bloodline as Tyler in the first place," Mason added.

"Which makes you the perfect guinea pigs," I said. "I'm surprised that you didn't already test this out before getting in touch with me."

"I really don't want to die," said Mason. "And Carol wouldn't let my brother do it. So we're stuck waiting for you."

I let out a sigh, running a hand over my hair. "I don't know," I said. "I'm not used to saying that often where magic is concerned but I don't know. I haven't been thinking about this more than a few seconds and in that time my memories haven't come up with much. So we'll need fail safes in place to make sure you don't die in all of this."

"Let's get it started then," said Mason. "We've got supplies for a linking spell grade power source—"

"What?" I said interrupting him. "The way you're speaking has me thinking you know the specifics of the spell I'm going to use." There were looks shared between them. "You're hiding something from me. Bad because it gets me thinking you don't trust me, that what you're doing might mean ill for the greater populace and which in turn means I have to probe over everything you're doing."

"No," said Tyler. "It's not that…It's just. There's another person like you out there," he said, gesturing between the tents. "They're the reason so many wolves got together in the first place. Trying to hide people from Klaus."

"Not another witch but a clairsentient," I said. Equal parts excitement and unadulterated horror ran through me because for the first time I didn't really know what this meant.

Questions rose through my mind: Was the person really clairsentient or were they like me, from another universe? And what did that mean when one more person could be reborn? Were the others?

"I'd like to meet them," I said.

Expressions were shared, a lot information passing through them than I could track before Brady gave a sigh and walked out beyond the lines of my wards. More thoughts were passed through me and the fear was starting to win out. I'd thought about other clairsentients when Mr Martin had let that slip, but I hadn't really devoted much brain time to it. But now that it was this close what could I think?

"You're going to get side tracked aren't you?" Tyler muttered under his breath. "You're going to focus on her instead of this?"

I absently shook my head. "Caroline," I said though still focusing on my thoughts. _Another_ clairsentient and this close. Someone who'd watched the series and was now leaving through it.

The name must have pacified him because he didn't say anything until I saw Brady return with a short girl walking beside him. I took her in as she walked: Skin with an olive tone to it, hair dark and curly and when I tried to find when she fit into the race spectrum I couldn't quite tell.

There was silence shared between us as we looked at each other, I couldn't quite read her beyond the fact that there was a confusion there. Confusion about what was harder because I couldn't apply context to the entire thing. A test was needed which meant that I should say something.

 _Okay, but what?_

Break this down. What do you need to know? What do you need to share that others don't want to find out? Was she clairsentient in the real sense of the word or was she like me?

The answer came much quicker than I thought it would and I said, "I'm Micah Bennett."

There was a flicker in her expression, a small confusion that touched even her features.

"Yeah, I think we're the same," I said. "Which is far stranger because…" I looked around. "Can we speak at some point? I have so many questions, like… Yeah. Can we speak because I've got school I've still got to go to."

"You still go to school? Above everything that's going to happen?" she asked me, affronted.

"Yes. My dad is big on that and I've ensured that I'm not the only head working towards this. Put people in place through manipulation sometimes working with the natural occurrences." I could see in in her eyes that the explanation didn't sit too well with her. "I feel like you want me to defend myself to you."

"Morally you should," she said. "Looking at it, the standing that you have, you should have achieved more. You're a witch, your ripples should have…"

"Okay, I'm going to stop you because I can feel that we're starting off on the wrong foot. I've just woken up and I have school, I've got things that I've got to do and defending them isn't something I'm willing to do. Let's table this because more than likely the council is going to be on my head about all this."

I broke the link with the spell and took a breath, calming a part of me that still wanted to go for the jugular, wanting to peak apart what she'd really done and the danger she'd put the wolves by bringing them here. But I pushed myself away from doing that, instead putting myself in mind to speaking about this with Professor Shane later today.

"Let's discuss this later," I said to the wolves I was used to. "Jared and I have some stuff to go over before school, and since I'm awake I'd rather spread that displeasure around. Tyler, you'll drive me?"

"Um…I can't. I have things to discuss. The deeper parts of how the ritual works on the broader sense."

"I'll drive you," said Brody. "I don't mind."

 _I don't mind too,_ I stopped myself from saying.


	10. Chapter 10

1-09

"Sorry about that," said the Professor, getting to his seat and putting his satchel on his desk and pulling out his notebook. He rummaged through the pile of paperwork to find a pencil and then looking at me. "So, how was the day?"

"Good," I said and I could hear my tone. The word abrupt, vague, something I didn't often do when answering except when I was hiding something. From the look of Professor Shane, I got the image that he knew this.

He stayed quiet, waited.

I let out a breath, a sigh and then said, "I met another clairsentient today."

"Oh?" he said, sitting forward. "That must have made you happy. Meeting someone like you. Someone with the same burdens."

I shook my head. "Not so much," I told him. "We didn't start on the right foot."

"Tell me about it," he said.

I took a breath and told him about the meeting, the words shared between the both of us before I'd abruptly called all that to a close. I told him about the thoughts I'd been harbouring since it all began, how casting boundary spells on the Lockwood Property had been harder because I was drawing from the wrong emotion and couldn't concentrate. I told him about the fact that a part of me wished she hadn't shown up in the first place.

"You seem to have very strong emotions directed towards someone you've only met for a few minutes," he said.

"It's kind of hard not to when she's saying the turmoil I've been going through has been me doing nothing," I muttered, my contempt running through my tone.

Shane gave a nod, sitting back before asking, "Is it possible, that it's not her you're angry at but yourself?"

"I don't understand your logic," I said after a moment, trying to wrap my mind around the statement.

"Well…you know Spiderman, right?"

"Watched the animated series and the movies. Was never into comics," I said.

"Whatever the case, all of the interpretations have this. Peter Parker became Spiderman because of something his uncle said to him: Great power, great responsibility. You have great power and unintentional though it might be, there's a part of you that subconsciously believes that you're responsible for the wrongs in the world."

I was quiet for a long time, again trying to wrap my head around the concept. Could that be true? Was it true? When I looked back, tried to think about everything I was trying to do then it seemed to be true at least in part, but overall I was doing all this because I wanted to. Or was that a lie I was telling myself?

"But," said Shane. "Think of the flip side of this." It was surprising that his statement hadn't cut off any of my thoughts, as though he'd waited for exactly the right time to allow my mind to run through its thought stream before posing another thought.

"This girl who's your age if not a little younger, she's had this knowledge running through her head and has felt compelled to act in a certain way. To save as many people as she can. Then she finds out that you've even had time to attend school."

"She's redirecting," I said.

"Yes," he said, with a small chuckle. "I think she might be. I can't be sure unless I speak to her personally. But this isn't about her. It's about you. Have you planned further than this morning. It seems to me like you're going to have to work together for the future of wolf kind."

I shrugged. "I've got too much stuff to deal with before the first light of the full moon tonight," I told him. "Dealing with her is something I haven't thought about in the slightest."

"You're selectively choosing not to remember that you've been thinking about her the entire day," he said. "Even forgetting that you've already told me, and in quite vivid detail, about the emotions she's been able to stir up."

"The way you're saying that makes me think your implying I have some sort of unresolved sexual tension," I said.

"Sexual attraction is not the only emotion one person can feel towards another," he said.

"And what emotions am I feeling towards her since you know me so well?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't think even you know at this point. But let's make this one of our tasks. You've been keeping your journal?" I gave him a nod. "I need you to add another aspect. Trying and digging through your emotions, running down on why you're feeling them and where they're directed."

888

"The Council's antsy," said Enzo. He was my escort for the day and I could see it that he was a little uneasy, speaking on and on in an effort to keep his mind away from the place he'd spent so long being tortured. "Matter of fact I'm a little antsy. All this wolves and one bit means I'm dead."

"Tyler's blood might be able to help you, theoretically," I said. "Technically he's an Original hybrid and their blood can cure werewolf venom."

"You lost me at theoretically," he said. "Too much danger. I think I might spend the day indoor tonight."

"I'm a little surprised that you're scared," I said. "It doesn't fit my mental image of you."

"I quite being alive," he said. I snorted at that. Enzo took his eyes off the road, sparring me a look before he said, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"The events are something I don't care for digging up, but you have it in you to kill someone to prove a point," I said. "Granted you'd be on the other side but you don't fear death."

"That sounds…stupid, honestly," he said. "Why would I even do that?"

"It's all a blur. It had something to do with Stefan and Damon, though. I get the feeling sometimes that being friends is a bad idea."

"And yet you still are," he said.

"For the same reason that a person is willing to buy land with gold deposits," I muttered. Enzo gave me another look before he shook his head.

"It's easy to forget sometimes that even with how young you are, you're as sneaky as the rest of us."

I gave a chuckle at that. "Oh, Enzo. It should be obvious at this point that I'm sneakier than all of you combined."

"Hubris," he muttered under his breath, loud enough for me to hear. "So what are we going to do about the Allied Council? Any words to alleviate their stresses?"

I groaned, running a hand over my eyes. "Can we just not to that tonight? There'll be over fifty wolves having turned and our wards might not hold up. I want to focus on that before I have to deal with people."

"By people do you also mean Josephine?"

"I don't know who that is," I said.

"Jules told me about the meeting between you two," he said. "You and the wolves' clairsentient trading it off with as little said ever. From what she said, the both of you walked off pissed at the other."

"Can we not please?"

"That's what you said to her," said Enzo. "Is that what you do when you don't know what to say? When you're stumped and want to end a conversation."

"Let's talk about Caroline," I said. There were small motions but I could see them, how his hands held the wheel tighter, how his gaze was fixed on the road and how his jaw looked more pronounced. "From what I remember last, you were courting her."

Enzo said nothing.

"I'm guessing things didn't go well. You're quiet." There was a small groan. "And you're going to break the steering wheel." His grip loosened. "What happened? I promise not to laugh."

"She got a better offer," said Enzo after a while. "Matt Donovan."

"Way-to-go, Matt," I said. Enzo sparred me a look. "I'm sorry. But Matt's been feeling a little left out of everything. A relationship might do him good."

"Stop thinking about him and think about me," he said. "I'm the one who got rejected here."

"I'm sorry," I said. "Um…I really have no idea how to console you."

"I don't need to be consoled," he said.

I snorted. "That pout sure isn't convincing me otherwise," I said.

"I don't pout," he said with a very pouty expression.

By the time we reached town I was reading through update texts Bonnie and Jared had been sharing with me, the amount of work they'd been doing while I'd been with Professor Shane. The pack of wolves had gotten so large that we'd been forced to ask even the Martins to lend a hand, something I didn't like but I couldn't do anything about.

The Martins as a whole was something we couldn't do anything about at least until Lucy returned. In terms of raw power my coven outmatched them, but they probably had hundreds of magical tomes which meant they had a lot of knowledge we couldn't replicate. All of it made worse by the fact that I the series they hadn't been really destroyed, it had just been coincidence after coincidence which had led to their eventual demise.

"So which way are we headed?" he asked as we entered town.

"The Lockwood place," I said not looking up from my phone. "They've got things prepared just waiting on me. We'll have an audience."

"The Martins?" I gave a nod. "Eventually you're going to have to fill me in on what we're going to do where they're concerned."

"Still haven't planned anything," I said. "Watching. Seeing their plan. I think I might dissuade them from the path they're taking. Get them on our side if I think about it too much."

"But you haven't?"

I shook my head. "I awful at making plans in the long term, it's easier if things happen and I react, you know? Spur of the moment like when we won that thing with Katherine and her witches."

"If I remember correctly, we just barely survived that," he said.

"We survived all the same," I said with an absent gestured. He turned into a street, taking him through the lower end of town before the prominence revealed itself. The properties got a whole lot bigger, a greater expense of space between one house and the other, and further still was the Lockwood property.

I got out of the car and walked into the house, moving through the living room and into a large drawing room that was already filled with circles and candles and blood. Bonnie was there and I gave her a hug, Jared a fist bump and Luka those one armed hugs that he loved to do.

"This will work? Haven't had much time to read over the ritual," I said to Mr Martin.

"Yes. But the spell is fickle, he said. "The connection brief. Whoever wrote this spell I think they didn't complete it."

"It serves our purposes," said Josephine. She was in the room too, beside her a younger girl who looked awestruck by the entire thing. When Josephine looked at me, it was with an anger and suspicion to it.

I took a breath and chose to ignore her.

"Let's get it started them," I said. I looked at the circles, noting the runes drawn in the smaller circles and surprised at the fact that there were four.

"Luka asked to join," said Bonnie. "Wanted the feel of being part of a coven that wasn't family. The power dynamic."

"Cool," I said. I found the earth symbol and stood within, the others chose their various places. Mason entered and so too did another vampire, one who'd found us while looking to have a daylight ring created. This was his price since he was young enough that he didn't really have any monetary wealth.

They sat in circles within the much larger circle and they waited.

We began the spell with Bonnie leading. She was good enough with Linking spells that she could do it without much trouble. It took us ten minutes to get the thing done, it would have taken a shorter time if it had just been me, Bonnie and Jared handling the spell.

Pretty quickly, it was done and we were working on the main projecting of the pre-evening. Josephine lead that and she seemed to be enjoying herself.

"It's something of a small ritual," she explained. "Letting go of the power you hold and accepting the lead of another. This goes further than just the ritual though because the emotion behind it, the intention is important. You lose have to be prepared to give up the privilege lo lead and if even a small part of you is against that, it means the ritual will take."

"I care more of escaping the curse than the power of position," said Mason.

"But are you ready to lead?" asked Josephine. "Are you prepared to make the hard decisions? This goes beyond anything you've ever done before, any leadership positions fail in comparison."

As she spoke I had an image of what she meant. Tyler creating a rebel faction of the hybrids and then having trouble gaining control of them through the power plays.

"I can do this," he said, confidence in his voice.

"No," I said, earning the attention of the others. "I mean, really think about it. Even beyond what you know. Werewolves are old. Old enough that their origins aren't something we can track. Certainly older than vampires. They way werewolves are is old too. How power is displayed is more animal than the plays between humans in the day-to-day."

"What he means is, you'll have to fight for your power," said Josephine. "Everything might be cushy now, everyone getting along so they can get away from the pain. But at the end of all this there'll be pushback. This is the problem that will come with leading a pack that is roughly fifty strong and is more likely to grow."

"Even beyond that there's the fact that, no disrespect, you're a kid," I said. "Immortal, sure, but all this responsibility is liable to make you crack."

"You're both saying I shouldn't do this," Tyler said, confused.

Josephine and I shared a look. "I'm biased," she said. "I want this too much to tell you no." She was looking at me as she said that.

"I don't think I can make that decision," I told him. "But you can. I'm just trying to tell you that be prepared. Leading isn't as easy as it looks. Also you might need to talk someone. I've found that helps if even a little."

"Let's do this," said Tyler after a moment's silence.

Josephine gave a short nod before she started the ritual. Burning a herb I wasn't familiar with and running it under Mason's nose. She then made a small cut on Tyler's hand with a sliver knife, dabbing a finger in the blood before drawing a symbol on Mason's forehead.

The moment the symbol was complete Mason's eyes let out a yellow glow, a deep growl passing through him.

"It worked," said Jared, excitement in his voice.

"Yes," said Bonnie. "But now we have to wait. Hope that Mason or Stephen don't die from this."

"In the meantime let's get you all to the safe grounds," said Enzo. "Hour or so before the moon's first light."


	11. Chapter 11

1-10

"You know this means you most probably won't be going to school tomorrow, right?" I said, looking over the map on the paper below. It was a measure of safety on our part, making sure the integrity of layers of the boundary spell.

"It took a little convincing," said Luka. "But Dad at least knows the importance of making friends. That and he owes me some goodwill because of this constant moving around thing."

I looked up at him, his expression, taking in the small lines which had no place on the face of a teenager.

"I thought you stayed in places for a little while before a move," I said. It wasn't something I'd actively thought about, the conversation, but it was still a rough idea in my mind what he'd said.

"Um…yeah," he said. "We used to. But things have sort of changed in the recent while." He looked away from the road a little, sparing me a glance that I caught with the corner of my eye before his eyes returned on the road, skirting the edges of the boundary spell on the large expense of land.

He wanted to say something if I was reading it right, but something stopped him. I hadn't actively thought about him and his dad and their whole drama since their arrival. The Allied Council seemed to have put the matter in the backburner and though I knew they could be dangerous, there really wasn't anything I could do without Lucy here.

They were powerful, with more useful knowledge in terms of magic. A fight was something I couldn't win, which meant angling for a fight wasn't the smartest thing to do. All I, and everyone else for that matter, could do was pretend to play nice until we knew their true motives.

"You can ask whatever it is that's on your mind," I said. "I get it, it's sort of hard not to test my powers."

"Right, sorry," he said. He took a breath. "You power, how does it work? Do you know the past, present and future? Do you need to focus on a particular person like a Tracking spell?"

"No," I said. "When I was young I got an info-dump. Everything I need to know is there, but since I got the information when I was younger, it's been eroded by time. So I need something big to remember."

"That sounds less powerful than I thought," he said. "I was going to ask if you could find someone without a Tracking spell, but I don't think it's that simple."

"No, it isn't," I said. Maybe I shouldn't have told him. Now that I thought about it, it worked against the whole thing of making me seem powerful enough to scare people off. But maybe that could work in my advantage, too? Ensuring that people weren't interested in me anymore?

A mental snort passed through me. That was unlikely. The only way that could happen was if I left Mystic Falls and hid myself under a Cloaking spell. I was getting good enough with them that I could probably achieve it, especially if I channelled Elena and Stefan's blood.

"Three miles and we stop," I said. "The barrier's frayed."

Luka hummed giving me a nod. Nothing had happened so far. The spells were holding and the packs weren't causing trouble. Tyler and Mason were inside the massive field in their wolf forms, herding the others so that they didn't try hitting the boundaries. They were magical creatures and it was possible that they would have enough power behind them that they could break through the spells.

Stefan was being watched by Bonnie, Caroline and Enzo. They were monitory his thirst level and his general state of being. If he started degrading then we'd have to quickly think through a way to keeping Tyler stable while decreasing the amount of magical strain exerted on the doppelganger.

Luka stopped the car and we exited, both of us making sure we were clear. Looking beyond I could see three pairs of eyes. I blinked and they were gone.

"We should have brought a vampire," said Luka.

"That would have caused more trouble that its worth," I said. I took a breath and focused, feeling over the lines until I found where the imbalances were. At some point, a werewolf must have hit the boundary and the energy expanded to keep the thing up meant this was a weak spot.

I went of the spell, fortifying the lines and in a matter of minutes I was done.

"Done," I said. He gave a nod and we shuffled into the car. He started driving off.

"What about this new clairvoyant?" he said. "You know anything about her?"

I shook my head. "She's a blind spot."

"That must worry you, if only a little," he said. "You must be used to knowing stuff or at least figuring it out, now this blind spot hampering your vision. It must sting."

I shrugged. "I'm trying to be less of a control freak," I told him. "It means I'm sane in the end."

"You don't seem like a control freak," he said. "At least not from what I've seen these past few days."

I chuckled. "Then you don't know me too well," I said. I looked over the map, seeing that the place I'd filled had more of a bold line at the current influx of power.

The entire image didn't sit too well with me, it wasn't as neat as I would have liked it. There were blocks all over the property, squares and rectangles which sometime overlapped to form our largest boundary spell yet. But the thing worked, it made sure only the most outer edges was the one that kept things out and in while the others were more ornamental.

I spotted six more wolves through our run, two of them cubs. That made me wonder what that meant, had they killed a person to transform and why would anyone do that to their child? Or was there something different to how the curse was activated? More to the magic? Or was this a form of protection for the young?

Too many questions and it grated me that I didn't know anything where they were concerned. Werewolves in the show had been peripheral, paid just enough attention that they were well defined but further than that they weren't the main focus. I still knew the basics, but as I was quickly learning, the basics were only that, _the basics_ and that there was more where magic was concerned.

"I'm curious," I said, breaking the silence that had developed between us. "What's your elemental affinity. I really haven't seen much in the way of magic where you and your dad are concerned."

"Dad doesn't believe in that," he said. "He thinks it's a crutch many people fall on and that as a witch you should be well-rounded."

I gave a short nod at that. "That's actually true," I said. "I'm finding that I'm relying more on my affinity than I should. Not using the others even when it would be better fuel for a spell."

"Researched it, though," he said. "I was curious enough that I opened myself and felt through it. Wind, which might explain why I'm good with Linking spells. Dad's the same and he's very good at Linking spells."

"That's good," I said. "A little unsettling, though. Makes me want to redouble my efforts in drawing Boundary spells around my house."

"Like you did just after we arrived?" he said. He spared me a look.

I shrugged. "I'm paranoid," I said, looking back down at the map.

"But not paranoid enough that you would refuse me if I was alone with you?" he said.

I stopped looking at the map, folding it up to look at him, sparing him a long glance. "Should I be worried right now?" I asked. "Because the way this conversation is headed makes me a little worried."

"No," he said. "I won't. But…" He sighed. "I'm still trying to get a handle of your power. What you told me gives me an image of how you got the knowledge that you have, but it doesn't tell me anything else. Is it past, present and future? Are you effectively psychic? What are the implications of that with regards to free will?"

"Did I just send you through a metaphysical rabbit hole?"

"Yes," he said, emotion behind his voice. "If your power is as I think it is, then it scares me. But also it doesn't?" he said, giving me a look, my expression must have been questioning enough that I could see he was going to explain. "Between you and the other clairsentient it makes me think that you're trying to actively change things. So you can't really have future knowledge.

"But then it still doesn't explain that you can predict things like you said before, if you pay enough attention to them. So," he let out something like a growl. "I just don't understand."

"You like understanding things don't you?" I said with a small smile.

"Who doesn't?" he said. "You understand the small things then you use that knowledge to guess at how the bigger things are going to respond. It's my entire thought process to magic. This I don't think I can understand that well and that is something that's going to bug me for a while."

"The more time you spend around me, the better you might be able to understand my ability," I said.

"I can't help but think you're flirting with me," said Luka, giving me a look.

My eyes closed as I felt a surge of embarrassment filling my stomach. If I were a tad paler then I might have actually blushed.

"It's common practice, even a social nicety that you don't mention it when someone's flirting with you," I said. "Particularly if you're going to spend about an hour's drive with them."

"No," he said, quick and sharp. The embarrassment increased tenfold. "I mean…I don't know what I mean. Just. I'm usually bad at that sort of thing. It's better if I know for sure so I can react. Turn on the charm."

"That's something of a relief," I said. "But it sort of broke the momentum I was building up. Now I have no idea how this can move forward."

"Sorry," he said. An awkward silence hung between us before he said, "I'm bisexual by the way."

"Um…congratulations?" I said, a little unsure.

"It's just that some people have hang-ups about that thing," he said.

"Never actively thought about it," I said. "But I don't think I have any hang-ups. And this conversation just took a turn that I'm not comfortable with. I get the feel that pretty soon one of us is going to ask the other out."

"That's how these things work," he said.

"Yes, but we barely know each other," I said.

"That's sort of the whole point," he said. "We don't have school tomorrow. We'll be asleep until the afternoon but it's a Friday and that opens up the weekend."

"You're really asking me out on a date?" I said. He didn't answer because the car suddenly jerked right at a figure in the middle of the road before he stopped: Tyler. He walked to the side and opened the door, getting into the backseat. "Problem?"

"Packs are riled up in the south east of the territories," he said. "They caught the scent of a vampire. They were too scared for it to be a normal vampire. Uncle Mason's gone to check."

"I'll check it out," I said. Tyler's fangs shot out, he ran his fingers under the fan and wiped it with a handkerchief. He handed the thing over. I started the spell, running through the threads until I found Mason in his wolf form running through the forest.

A minute spent running and the image was suddenly gone.

"An area's Cloaked," I said. "We're dealing with a witch." I didn't mean to, but my eyes slightly looked to my left where Luka was driving. "I think it's better if we stayed clear. Call Mason off."

"Not an option," said Tyler. "He doesn't have a phone."

"We can handle a witch, can't we?" said Luka. "Between the two of us and two hybrids?"

"I'm not much for combat situations," I said. "And we'd be going in there blind."

"I could call my Dad. I think he's still at the hospital. He could help?"

"Do that," said Tyler. "Mike, you mind doing what you did you your dad? That burning touch thing?"

"Sure," I said. I closed my eyes, flooding power into the thread. The energy sent rebounded and I felt that feedback loop pain. I shook my head. "The Cloaking spell is blocking me."

"Wait," said Luka. "I think I might have something that will work. But I don't have the power to do it alone?"

I heard the door open and the rush of wind as I was pulled out of the car and deposited into the backseat. The car didn't stop even as Luka was pulled out of the backseat and put beside me, Tyler taking the driver's seat and immediately moving the car faster.

"Thanks for that," I muttered under my breath.

Luka was on the move, he took the handkerchief and closed his hands around it. He let out a breath and started speaking under his breath. I took hold of his shoulders and felt the rush of power moving through me, I could hear the wind in the distance but the ancestors weren't behind it. I reached out and took hold of their power, and as I started saying the spell the ancestors joined in.

I felt a thread coming to life. It wasn't the same thread that I was used to, instead it was slow moving, thicker and built like power cable. From what I felt he pushed a lot of power into, enough that I would have been drained if I'd tried to do something like this alone. A matter of minutes and I felt it as we reached the point where the Cloaking took hold.

The barrier-esque feel of the spell started to warp, a lot of energy pointed in one place until the general effect started to fray.

All at once the cloaking spell broke and I could see. The image was so violent that Mason lost his footing and with his speed he tumbled, slamming into a tree and having a branch tear through him. Luckily it didn't hit anything and he was up a moment later, his bones shifting so that he was in his human form again.

I pushed back the sight and started taking control, leading the spell and using the power cable to bewitch Mason. When the spell was done I pulled back.

"Done," I said to Tyler. "And we might have nearly killed your uncle."

The car jerked a little. "What?"

"Sorry about that," said Luka. "Dad is usually the one who leads this sort of spell. I didn't expect him to actually feel it. But the sort of power you brought to the table. It was…"

"Less that and more this," I said, retaking the handkerchief. Using the line I got an image of Mason, he was back in his wolf form and running through the forest again. He stopped, turned and then bolted moving faster than I would have seen were magic not involved.

A matter of moments and then he stopped, someone else coming into the picture. Tall and stately, wearing a black suit and with a regal frame to him and looking at the wolf with an amount of curiosity.

"A hybrid," he said just as Mason growled, legs bent as he prepared to lunge. "Trust me, dog, you don't have the power to deal with me."

And he was right.

"Somnus," I said, reaching and pushing power into the tube. Mason slumped before he could lunge, not moving. Confusion appeared on Elijah's features before he looked around. He started moving forward but I was already acting, pushing more power into the line and building a barrier around Mason.

I built a second one, large enough that it would show him what I'd done. He slammed into the barrier, stopping and looking around again.

"The Bennett witch, I'm guessing," he said, fixing his cuffs. "We'll be meeting soon enough. But in the meantime, tell your dogs it would do them good to stay out of my way."

Then he disappeared.

I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding in. The Martins had been the first part in all of this, but now it was truly beginning. It was only a matter of time before Klaus was here.


	12. Chapter 12

Interlude: Josephine

"Eat," she said. "You need the strength."

Antoinette gave a small nod before stabbing at the steak in front of her. She, as usual for her, was quiet, looking over everything and taking it all in. They were in a crowded diner, enjoying the morning rush. There were people around and with them came the scents: A myriad of different colourings all with their own smidgen of information.

It was easy to get distracted, allow the part of her mind primed to reading into these scents to go on a free for all. In this state she could read them, make guesses where they'd been, the amount of activity from the night before and even guess at what that activity was. If she focused enough she could even push her mind into reading the emotions of the room, a similar ability to that of the Lockwood clan.

All that trouble with an older mind and for a mind as young as Antoinette's, it was nearly impossible not to get lost in it all.

Josephine watched as her sister ate, mechanically chewing through the meat before slicing for another piece. She couldn't help herself, her hand moved and messed the younger girl's hair. Annie looked up, giving Josephine a bright smile before returning to her food.

 _All this is for you,_ she thought. She'd made it so she saw the larger image, protecting the entirety of her people, strengthening them through the bonds of family but when she broke it down she was doing all this for little Annie.

She took in a breath and got the general shift. The direction of the scent, the intensity of the air from outside, crisper and filled with a certain amount of green to it. Then there was the musk, an animal sort of smell that was slightly watered down. Looking in the direction and she could see the man, large and broad shouldered, skin dark and with unkempt hair.

He looked through the room and spotted them, striding into the room. He took a seat in front of Josephine and Antoinette.

"Everything went well?" she said as she peeled an orange.

"Everyone's been accounted for," said Eric. "The witches were good on their word, protecting the Innocents."

"That's good," she said, her voice working on its own to form the emotions she no longer felt. "The Lockwoods? What do you think about them? With what you've seen so far?"

"Mason's easier to read," said Eric. "Like many of us he's suffered through the transformations so he's working towards alleviating that. From what Jules' pack has let slip, he's been working on this for a long time. With the Moonstone."

"I know," said Josephine. "But it's Tyler I'm more worried about. Their clairvoyant has been working on this town which makes things foggy for me."

Eric was quiet for a moment, his features running through a myriad of emotions before he said, "We could take him out, make the picture clearer."

"We could," she said. "But should we?" Josephine took in another breath before reaching into her pocket, pulling out a small tin that was charred on the outside. She put the thing on the table before pulling out a match and flicking it on.

"Excuse me," said a woman, a waitress. "You can't smoke in here."

Josephine ignored her and dropped the match in the tin, there was a waft of smoke that quickly spread through the room. The waitress, who had been walking towards them, returned to looking over the small notebook in her hands.

"If he's like me, then he knows to be guarded," she said. "He knows the forces he's up against and even if his power-set is more versatile he'll know that he'll be at a disadvantage. He'll be prepared for death and he'll more likely have countermeasures."

Eric frowned. "I thought you couldn't read him."

"I can't," she said. "But I can't read you. I can't read my sister. Hell, I can't read a lot of people using my power. But I can use information I've gleaned to put the puzzle that is him into perspective."

"Also, killing is bad," said Antoinette. "Bad as in _bad._ And bad because people get angry."

"You're right," said Josephine giving Annie another rub of the head. "Bonnie will react. Bonnie's father will react. We can't predict any of this because of the change. But we need to get an image of the situation. We need Micah Bennett watched. Eye candy. Preferably one of the empath variants."

"I'll have Charlotte start working on him," said Eric, getting to his feet.

"Hank," said Josephine.

Eric stopped before he gave a short nod. "Right. What about the Old One? How long will we be here?"

"We'll have more breathing room once I'm married to Tyler," she said. "I've already got the framework on how to lead through the distance, making it so the magic holds while people return to their original territories. But there's the chance that Klaus might be here in the week or the month. We'll have to be ready to fight if that's the case."

"The others won't like this," said Eric.

"I know. But this is all towards the end-goal," she said. "Tell them what I always say. If they've lost their trust in me then they can leave. I won't blame them for doing that."

Eric let out a sigh and gave a nod. "Better get everything prepared," he said and he stood, leaving.

"Call the Evans kids," said Josephine. "I want you to spend time with them for the next few hours. Make sure I don't take over too much."

Annie gave a nod and pulled out her phone.

This was the price for the spell, the price for not having been born in the right family. If she'd been a witch like Micah, she could only imagine the things she would have already achieved. Instead the man had been attending school the past few months and doing the gods knew what.

Josephine felt her heart beating faster, the anger filling her up and colouring her thoughts. She took a long breath and pushed it all back, focusing on the future and what she was trying to do. Coming to this place at this time was for a reason, trying to seize an opportunity which had presented itself.

Another hybrid had just popped up and she didn't understand it. That's the true reason she was doing all this. When she learned how this had happened then she'd move towards creating more Original hybrids. Step one had already been achieved: She had the Original Father.


	13. Chapter 13

2-01

Dad let out a long breath, his eyes closing before he moved to rub away the lines that had suddenly dominated it. He lay back against the couch, looking up to the ceiling for a long moment before he returned to look at me and Bonnie. Enzo stood in a corner with his arms crossed and looking scared for the first time.

It had only been a few hours past that things had turned into a state of uncertainty, where Elijah Mikaelson had showed himself in a capacity, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out the why of it.

"Is the house protected?" Dad asked after a complete minute had passed. "Can we speak without worry?"

"The spells should have held," I answered. "It's better we be on the cautious side and recheck the house."

Dad gave Enzo a look and the man disappeared without another word. Dad slowly stood and stretched before he disappeared too. There was quiet between Bonnie and I as we waited, hearing the clatter of objects being shifter and the fluid patter of footsteps. I closed my eyes too, leaning back against the couch and calming my breathing.

It was surprising how little fear I was feeling. Rationally, I knew that he was dangerous and that our interests weren't aligned, but I was calm about it all. We'd all split up after getting Mason: Tyler and his uncle returning home and to the packs, Luka going back to his father, and me to my own family.

Fifteen minutes and finally they returned.

"Nothing new from my part," said Enzo.

Dad nodded. "They're involved, right?" Dad asked. "The Martins?"

"I don't know," I answered. I hadn't thought about it much, but the few times that I tried it had caused a large headache. "It might be some larger play to get us to trust them. Without Luka I wouldn't have been able to move through the Cloaked space."

"But you didn't get anything from him?" asked Enzo. "That he might know about this?"

I shook my head. "I was sort of distracted. Not looking for anything in particular, instead keeping an eye for any trouble with my wards."

"You're not saying something," said Bonnie. She was looking at me with an odd expression and when I looked at her, I could see it in her eyes that she'd figured it out. "He asked you on a date?"

"Yes," I said.

Enzo snorted. "And you said no, of course, right?"

"I said yes," I said.

Enzo let out another snort, though this one was a chortled, a little delirious. "What game are you playing?" he asked. "Because to me this seems the epitome of stupidity."

"I want to say _keep your enemy close_ or whatever," I said. "But that's not really true. I was flustered and I sort of like him. He's easy on the eyes."

"Of course you'd choose a moment like this to become a teenager," Enzo muttered. There was more of that fear and a part of me liked it. I'd told them about the Original and though I was their only source for this, with nothing even proving they really existed, they still trusted my word.

I pushed that feeling back, focusing on the present and the future.

Dad was looking at me with a pitying gaze.

"We have to call Lucy back," he said. "Even if she didn't get the spell you were after, we need her power behind us if we can hope to take them down."

"That spell would have been really useful," I said, a sigh filing my tone. "But it's better we have her now than some spell in the future."

"I'll have to tell the Allied Council," Dad said, getting to his feet. "It's better if we discuss all of this as a group. How we're going to deal with the Martins and the protection detail on Elena now that Elijah's showed himself."

"We could also set up a watch, too," said Bonnie, as Dad was reaching for his phone. He stopped looking at Bonnie just as we had. "Micah told me of something he did when…when everything had gone to hell."

No doubt she'd changed the wording on for my benefit.

"You setup lines on the ground, connections so that you wouldn't have to say the spell over and over," she said and I remembered the experience. "We could setup a similar deal. Use the properties of water or perhaps a mirror to create an image with which to scry with. We already have something tied to the Original."

"Their mother's pendant," I said.

Bonnie nodded. "Even if he's cloaked, we know that it can be broken with enough power and a strong enough link. Things that we both have."

"And if that's not enough," I said. "We could always use their father's blood."

At that Dad started, looking at me as though I'd suddenly gone insane. "The same creature that your mother and grandmother were scared off? You want to disturb it?"

"I want its blood," I said. "Having anything to do with Mikael would be idiocy of the greatest part."

"How about we first look at the pendant option before moving forward?" said Bonnie, looking between Dad and I with a worried expression. "If the threads don't work, then we can use something stronger."

"First the Council," said Dad. "Communication is key. In the meantime. The both of you should sleep here tonight. You're dealing with witches and you sleeping on your own terrifies me."

"That is something I really want to do," I said, stifling a yawn. I didn't have school today, but above and beyond everything I was starting to feel my fatigue. Dad walked out of the room, his phone at his ear.

Bonnie muttered a spell, the smell of sage drifting through the room.

"We aren't going to sleep?" I said, asking the two. They were looking at me with various levels of interest in their eyes.

"I think we're both wondering why you're so calm about this," said Bonnie, there were slight hints of worry in her eyes, though I couldn't tell why.

"I'm thinking along the lines that you have a plan," said Enzo. "And that you didn't want to tell daddy dearest about it because you knew he'd refuse."

I bleary shook my head. "I'm just tired, haven't thought much about all this. I think I'm still running on an emotional high. Sleep will help that."

Both of them frowned. "That's not usually how you react to high stress situations," said Enzo. "You should be wanting to move right now. Thinking on plans, taking everything in on the macro scale and tossing plans at us."

"Shane told me to slow down. I'm less likely to miss things that way. And working off of emotion really isn't good. Muddles the mind," I replied. I got up, stretching. "I'll see you guys when I wake up," I said, leaving them and going up to bed.

Tomorrow was likely to have a lot of discussions. Between my coven, the Allied Council and now the wolves and their reincarnate, I would need my mind to be at its top level. Something that wouldn't be true if I didn't sleep.

Mechanically, I went about my nightly ablutions, pushing back the urge to look out the window and forced myself to sleep. It didn't take a lot with the fatigue doing much of the work, and then I was lost in very confusing dreams.


	14. Chapter 14

2-01

Waking up the next morning was a chore, even more so because my phone kept buzzing. It was either my alarm or one of the others, but I didn't care because my bed was so comfortable and the outside air was cold enough that it didn't help any towards helping me out of bed. But even so, the comfort of sleep had to end and my door was quite viciously cursed open and Bonnie walked in.

"No," I said, pushing a pillow with too much vigour in her direction. It spoke much of her reflexes that I didn't hear the ooph I was expecting, instead feeling as the pillow hit me enough that I rolled out of bed and fell on the floor.

When I got up I was glaring at her.

"You've been sleeping for six hours," she said. "It's time to get up."

"I think the recommended period is eight, ten in the least," I said. "I've still got four more hours."

"I wouldn't recommend that," said Bonnie walking in and with her the most tantalising smell of coffee wafting into the room. "I think I read somewhere that sleeping too much may be killing you."

"Funny," I muttered. "I remember reading _somewhere_ that sleep is the best sort of exercise."

"That doesn't sound right," she said handing over the coffee. I took a sip, just right in a way that even I couldn't achieve: Black, strong and still sweet.

"In a demented way it does make sense though," I said. "Sure your body is in a hibernative state but you're still spending at least six hours without eating while your body still goes through is biological…You got me in a monologue."

She grinned at that. "Yeah," she said, that grin turning smug. "Now you've thought. Have fun trying to get back to sleep."

I glared and threw another pillow at her which stopped in mid-air before falling to the ground. She was getting really good with that reactionary magic, I hadn't even know she was working on that sort of thing. Though it made sense thinking about it, vampires had superstrength and speed, which meant things they threw would move very, _very_ quickly. I made a mental note to start working on it too.

"My phone was buzzing this morning," I said. The coffee had started moving its way through me, warming me up. "Who was it?"

"Our council," said Bonnie. "Word has passed. They want to know what we're going to do."

"All things you could discuss without me there," I said.

"And we did," said Bonnie.

"You know," I said, interrupting whatever she was going to say. "It would have made me feel special if you'd said you couldn't do it without me."

"If you felt any more special you'd have too big a head," she said. "And we can't have that. Anyway, we got the parts of the spell prepared in the meanwhile and we're just waiting on the entirety of our coven here before we start making the things."

"Do you really need me?" I said. "This is more enchantment that a curse or blessing or anything. Trial and error."

"What I said to Jared, predicting all of this," Bonnie said. "And he said that we might need your eye one this."

"See, sister, there's a guy who knows how to make a guy feel special." Bonnie just gave me a dry look. "Wait. How long have you been awake if you had time to discuss all of this?"

"A few hours," she said. "Unlike you, the rest of us aren't eerily calm. What's up with that, anyway? The way you described them before, Originals are very dangerous and yet you're…chilled about all this?"

I gave her a shrug, waving the thing off. "We've got two clairsentients. That's got to count for something. But then, they're _extremely_ old, which has to count for something too." I let out a breath. "Okay, I'm up and I'll get the gears moving. But could you leave? It's the morning."

"Right," she said and then she left. I had to take another breath, taking a few more sips of my coffee before I started going through the morning routine, letting more of the worry start to seep through, the reality that pretty soon Klaus would be on us, someone who perhaps even more dangerous the Elijah.

I wasn't sure I scaled that but all the Originals were demented in their special way. But I'd have to outthink them, something that sounded impossible but I could predict them, which helped.

The house was filled went downstairs, my coven and our friends even Tyler. The most surprising occupant, though, was Andrew who was sitting next to his brother, a scowl directed at me. I would really have to find a way of getting through to him at some point, but I would have to put in a lot of work seeing as he was a blind spot. I internally grinned a little thinking about how much I was projecting strength when I was so fallible.

"How do we deal with this?" said Jeremy. He was serious, but then it was his sister concerned. "We've thought through countermeasures but we've never really spoken about how we're going to handle them."

"We have," said Jared. "Boundary spells. It's the entire reason we've been experimenting. I daresay we've gotten better."

"But that's passive," said Tyler.

"And we're not tackling the obvious issue," said Stephan. "The Martins. How are we dealing with them?"

"We're not killing them that's for sure," I said. "If we do that we'll have a very powerful witch on our hands with little reason to live."

"Limiting how we react," said Bonnie. "This isn't you. Giving us restrictions without trying to work through solutions."

I let out a sigh. "You back to thinking I've been bewitched?"

"You're acting strange," said Bonnie. "Enzo and I have noticed it. I'm sure others have noticed it too. It's the only explanation."

"Not the only," I countered. "It could be that I'm working to lessening the mental strain from all this. What we're about to face will be long and arduous, it will do us a lot of good if we don't get too bogged down by this. Not mentioning the fact that we're dealing with immortals, patience is their entire thing, I mean Klaus spent a few centuries giving misinformation to the entire world so they could work towards his agenda."

"So you're trying to be like him?" asked Jeremy.

I shrugged. "Let's trying and not think about that too much," I said. "I'm just trying to work this problem differently than I approach other problems." I took a breath and said, "Elijah wants to kill his brother."

"Something we don't want because it means us dying," said Jeremy. "We have to dissuade him."

"But the shortest path to that is me dying," said Elena.

"Something we don't want," said Caroline. It was a little amusing that she would say that as if it wasn't the idea behind all of this.

"Another limiter," said Jared. He saw the looks that were being directed at him. "I wasn't thinking of a possibility," he said, hands raised in surrender. "I'm just working to better form this in my mind."

"We can't help him along in that regard," said Andrew. "But maybe we can trick him? Tell him we're working towards the same ends?"

"Won't work," said Bonnie. "He knows about the bloodline thing. He'll suspect us."

"He doesn't know," I interjected. This, speaking, was making the memories a little clearer, easier to connect the pieces.

"Which means it's a viable option," said Andrew.

"Though it shouldn't be the only plan we're putting forward because it leaves a lot of room for error," said Stephan. "Even so we should be watching him. I'll help with the spell. It might be easier if I was with you."

"Might be _much_ easier if you were a part of our coven," said Jared in a singsong voice while elbowing his brother.

"What about that whole thing with the cottage?" asked Matt. "Can't you use its power to bind the Martins or something?"

"We could," said Jared after a moment. "But that brings its own complications. With how little of us there are, the bond between us might mean they'll be able to influence our actions."

"There's already risk of that even with your current setup," said Andrew. "Part of the reason I don't want to be tied down to a coven. _Part._ " He shot me a look as he said the last.

I just shot him a bored look. "There'd surely do that," I said to Matt. "Good idea though." He tried to keep it in, but I could see his lips quirk wanting to grin.

"Come on," said Jared, a bit of a whine behind his voice. "Do that thing you do, already. It was more fun when you thought faster, getting us into the thick of it. Maybe we should run a few spells on him, test out any ties that might be connected to him, messing with his brain."

"I want to refuse," I said. "But that's a good idea. We know that Luka and his father are good with linking spells. For that very matter it's quite possible that they might be watching us now."

"Say that a little calmer, why don't you," Enzo drawled. "Because it certainly isn't the most terrifying thought at the present climate."

"More so because of who's saying it," said Bonnie. "First matter of business, that's what we test out. Micah goes first."

The process wasn't that long. Andrew took the lead with him being our aficionado when it came to Linking spells. He drew a circle on the floor with smaller circles, in all the circles he place black feathers; he said a word and the feathers simultaneously burnt to nothing, leaving in their place an acrid black smoke that filled the circle.

"We just walk through," he said. "If the there's any links on you it should be visible."

I was the first to step through and when I did there indeed were a set of threads from me to the outside world, framed by the darkness of the smoke. Andrew frowned from beyond the circle, moving his hands at intervals and the threads disappearing. He did this for fifteen minutes in total before two thread was left, thick things that looked indestructible, one even thicker than the others.

"You're not cursed," he said.

"What about those?" I said pointing at the threads.

"Your ties to my brother and Bonnie," he said.

"Guess he's just having a slow morning," said Jared, muttering just loud enough for me to hear. He followed and then Bonnie, who had a strange thread, she pulled on it and said that if gave her an image of Ben. Thinking on it, it was probably the linking spell we'd done when everything had started.

The others moved through with the only oddities being Tyler and Stefan, who were connected to each other and Mason, and Elena who was connected to an entire network of people.

"They're naturally forming," said Andrew looking over Elena's threads. "Stronger than anything I've seen before. Wait," he said. "Stephan, do you mind getting back in here?"

When he did Andrew looked at me with a frown. "How many doppelgangers exists in the world right now?" he asked. "Because these threads look exactly like the ones Elena has."

I hadn't seen that coming. But I hadn't exactly been thinking on that matter. I had to wander why my thought process was so slow. I took a long breath closing my eyes and pushing away the torpor. We were in danger, _they_ were in danger and all through that I had plans to alleviate that danger. But I just had to think.

Elijah. The Honourable one. If we made a deal he would keep to it, but he was particular about his word choice. Not harming a hair on someone's head meant _not harming_ a _hair._

How would he play this?

Right now he was watching over things. He wanted to kill Klaus but he still wanted him to get close enough to achieve that. Which meant—

" _No,"_ I heard from far away, Jared's voice. _"He's doing it.'"_

—he wasn't about to kill Elena. The Martins were probably a measure towards that. Keeping an eye on Elena, but ensuring if she ever needed to be killed it would be done.

There was also the fact that he was looking for enough power that he would be able to kill Klaus, which meant trying to find the cottage. Now, though, he knew that I knew he was here, he knew about my ability which mean that he would be after me.

"He'll come after me," I said.

"To take you out?" asked Jeremy, his voice hitching.

I shook my head. "To speak. That's when we can make the deal. He'll want the power of the witches in the cottage. I'm his access to that."

"Another protection detail?" said Enzo. "Is there ever going to be a time where we go on the offensive?"

"Think of an offensive play and we'll do that," I said. "But I'm scared of going on the offense. I don't think I can outplay them. But I can react to them. Use that to get a better and better image of how they'll play things."

"Wouldn't two heads be better than one in that case?" said Tyler.

"Josephine wants to meet?" I asked.

Tyler nodded. "She's been wanting to do that all morning."

"Probably had a judge-y face all through it I imagine," I said. It made me wonder how she would playing this. The smart thing to do would be to leave. But she was staying, had a reason to stay in the power. Maybe it was the best thing to do. "We should meet though. I'll have to setup the place."

"She said you'd say that and she said you should meet at Bob's Diner. She already has a functional boundary in place."

"I'm a walking boundary maker," I said. "I trust my own spells more than I trust hers. We can meet at your house. It's highly likely that she said that to provoke a reaction and she was really betting on being there in the first place. It's close to Bob's and her people will be outside in case there's trouble."

Tyler didn't say anything, which to me meant a yes.

"And tell her it took me a second to figure all of this out," I said. "I think this is us having a pissing contest."

There was more talking after that but I wasn't listening much. The others who had school went out, they'd missed the first few periods but there was still the rest of the school day. Bonnie, Andrew and Jared worked on her idea while I watched over the entire thing, mentally preparing myself for my meeting with Josephine.

After that, it would no doubt be—a knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. Enzo was immediately at the door opening it, he took a step back when as a familiar voice on the other side said, "Is this the Bennett Residence? I'm looking for Micah Bennett."

I couldn't help the grin that had spread on my face. Because things had turned out for the worst, but I'd been right.


	15. Chapter 15

2-03

"I'm sorry, who are you?" said Enzo though a part of him had already taken a step back, shifting against what he must have known was Elijah.

"Elijah Mikaelson," the man said. "He'll no doubt be expecting me." Looking at the others they were stuck in place though there was an excited glean in Jared's eyes. There was something wrong about that kid, royally by the looks of it, and from Andrew's own expression he knew this to be true too.

I noticed that the same shocked feeling was setting in on em now that Elijah was really here. I took a breath, feeling out my heartbeat and doing my best at convincing my body that I wasn't in any real danger. Try as I might, though, the message wasn't truly sinking in.

I forced myself to my feet and started moving, with the first step my body had no other choice than to follow through. Enzo, who'd said nothing the entire time but stared beyond the threshold. My forward movement stopped when I was in front of the door staring down the man.

Even with the distance between us my heart was beating faster, my throat doing its level best at closing up and sweat starting to line my forehead. Through the panic, with what little sense of rationality that I had, I took in Elijah and I saw that he knew I was afraid.

"I'll—" I started and I had to clear my throat when it came out shaky. "I'll take it from here, Elijah," I said pushing through.

"I'll assume you've no doubt known for some time that I would be coming here," he said. He unbuttoned his blazer and took a step forward. Without even meaning to I'd taken a step back. I swallowed, feeling panic.

His smile was intentional, for me to see it.

"Known what I'm trying to achieve and you know the alternative if you don't help me," he said, all in one breath. "It's in your best interest, Mr Bennett, to help me achieve my goals."

"Okay," I said. I cleared my throat and gave him a nod. "I'll lose if I fight you. Between you and the Martins I have no choice but to go along with whatever you're trying to achieve. What do you want?" I asked.

"I'd thought you would already know that," he said.

I shook my head. "That's not how my ability works," I said. "You'll no doubt know this if the Martins have been reporting in."

"They have," he said. "Just a test. The specific where your ability is concerned can be quite…inconsistent. It's in my best interest if I continually try to feel out what your true measure is. Not of import, at present," he said. "What is of import is you staying out of my way until I have need of you."

I didn't need think about it before I nodded.

Elijah smiled. "It was a pleasure making your acquaintance, Mr Bennet, and say hello to the rest of your friends for me, will you?"

"Sure," I said and the words were again shaky. The man disappeared and a breath I must have been holding in was let out, my legs growing week and the world becoming shaky around the edges. "Fuck me but that was awful," I muttered.

"Tell me about it," said Jared. "You were scared."

"Of course I was scared," I muttered. "He's a fucking Original. Kill him and I have Klaus on me, chasing me for eternity. We don't do what he says and he just kills us, or he uses all of you against me, or he kills Elena."

Thoughts came rushing in and it was easy to feel panic. Images played out through my mind of the future, my past: The people the Originals had killed, how they could make playthings even of the most powerful, how _I_ wasn't powerful and might be easy for them to takes. We weren't prepared for this and it was now just starting to sink through.

"I'm going to have a panic attack," I said and my voice was shaking, my legs even more so. My heart was beating faster and my throat was all but closing up, making it very hard to breathe.

"Yep…I'm having…a…panic attack," I said before my legs gave out. Enzo grabbed me before I could fall, moving me towards the couch.

Everything was coming back: Grams, Bree and now this. With everything that had happened I could get impressions of the me from the previous life. Nothing broad, but I knew the feelings when they connected to this world. How I'd told people to buck up or shouted at the screens all the right things to do, but now here I was and I was having a panic attack of all things.

The world started to draw in, splotches of darkness closing in.

I couldn't have that. Not one bit. I couldn't be useless when people were looking towards me for help.

It wasn't healthy, I knew, but this had to be done. I shoved the anger down, pushing it into a box and then reached for the anger. I felt it as it flared, pushing the darkness back and filling me up with a heat. My thoughts became clearer, starker with the impressions of everyone around me taking a darker tinge.

I pushed my mind into remembering the future, all the things the Originals had done and all the things I hated them for. I made that an anchor, making sure the images where the clearest thing in my mind at any one time.

I took a large breath in and found the first step towards moving forward.

The others were standing around me, worried looks even from Andrew.

"Our first step is destroying the bridge," I said when I came back.

"What?" said Bonnie.

"Destroy the bridge," I said. My eyes strayed towards Andrew, the only one I couldn't really trust in the room, and he must have known where that was leading because he took a step back and said a spell, his finger slashing a line through the air.

"What?" said Jared. "You knew?"

But he was ignored. "I'm not going back to sleep," said Andrew. "My brother is a part of this which means I'm a part of this."

"You'd be a better part of this if you were all in," I said. I stood, feeling more strength. "Right now, we're at war. Either you're fully prepared to fight or you leave. But right now, I'm not giving you proprietory information."

"My brother—"

"Is his own person," I said, my voice cold. "Stop it. Stop coddling him because it doesn't require a sense of clairsentience to see he doesn't like it." The atmosphere in the room shifted. Jared losing his smile while Andrew drew himself inward. I saw a way in and in the haze my mouth moved before I could think my way through.

"He's smarter than you," I said. "You know this. So let him be instead of letting your insecurities diminish your brother's potential."

"You are out of line," said Andrew, his voice shaking with anger.

"I'm telling the truth," I said. "The reason you haven't chosen to join our coven, beyond me, beyond the handy excuses, is the fact that you know if you're in the same coven as your brother he'll eventually outshine you. For that matter the real reason you hate me so much is because I give your brother the resources to do so."

Andrew said a spell and slashed his fingers. I felt a hook connect to my back and pull my back, sending me crashing into the wall before hitting the ground.

I got to my feet and moved a chair; he slashed his fingers again and the chair changed course, moving towards the ceiling and sticking there. Andrew closed his hand into a fist and opened it before he blew out; a stream of fire barrelled towards me only to catch Enzo in the chest, sending him crashing into me.

"Andrew, stop!" said Jared. Groaning I got to my feet and saw that Jared was standing in front of his brother. "Don't do this."

"You're siding with them?" said Andrew, a broken quality to his voice.

"It's—it's not about taking side," he said looking between the both of us. "It's about more than that, the future. The Originals—"

"Aren't our problem," said Andrew. "None of what this town brings to bare is our problem. We should have left this place at the first sign that things were heading south, we could still leave now. Breaking the ties that connect you to them—"

"But I don't want that," Jared said.

"So you are choosing them."

"Stop!" said Andrew. "Please stop. I've been around Micah long enough to always be looking for manipulation. I don't know if this serves a larger plan, but what you're saying right now, drawing lines and seeing only black and white, it's not helping."

Andrew looked at his brother for a long moment, taking him in before his gaze moved in my direction. For a witch, it was certainly a possibility that looks could kill, and I was sure that if Andre knew the spell he would have killed me right there and then.

He didn't, though, instead he stormed out of the house.

I'd lost ground. There was a part of Jared that resented me now and I could see it in the way that he stood, the way that he looked at me for a long moment; there was a part of Bonnie that was scared of me, we'd attacked people in mutual anger, but this was a different sort of attack; but from Enzo there was nothing.

"Destroy the bridge," said Jared, the first to speak. "Why?"

"Because it's made out of White Oak," I said. "I know," I said, seeing the shift, particularly from Enzo, "it makes sense to keep some but there lies only temptation. Either Elijah or Klaus dies and it could me the others or Enzo. It's safer that we do this now."

"Without speaking to the Council?" said Bonnie. "Dad will be upset about this."

"Which is the reason we aren't going to tell him," I said. "I know, communication and all that, but the less people that know about this the better."

"Then we destroy the bridge," said Enzo. He was on his feet, rubbing at his chest. "What about the Original? We going to do what he says?"

"First we talk to Josephine," I said. "She might see this from an angle I haven't looked at. Then I'll talk to Luka and his father. Break both of them. It won't be a magical attack it will be me showing my displeasure for their spying, skirting the lines of Elijah's orders."

"They could still attack you," said Enzo.

"They could, but they won't," I said. "Elijah will have noticed the wolves. A pack that large will have been noticed, word will be ringing and that of their destination will be clear. Klaus is coming and Elijah wants to get to work quickly. He knows I'm afraid which means he'll be back, wanting to know where the grave is if he doesn't find it."

It was small, but there was a gain there too. Jared was excited, at me, at what I was doing, how I was thinking. The haze gave me a matter of perspective, how to move forward where Jared was concerned: He liked being around people who thought as quickly as he could. I was that, between my 'gift' and the fact that I was quite good at reading people.

The more of _this_ side of me that he saw the closer the both of us would be.

"Let's get to work," I said.


	16. Chapter 16

2-04

There were wolves milling about in the Lockwood Property, some stopping when the car set in. I felt uncomfortable being here, all these people that I didn't know and couldn't read, their expression which looked hostile. But with the vigour of the anger still running through me I could push it back quite easily, force the fear and discomfort away toward red-laced thoughts.

The looks weren't directed at me, at least not entirely. Enzo was with me, in front and being the guard while Bonnie and Jared were at either side of me. There hadn't been much conversation during the car trip, all of us in our respective thoughts with me trying to direct my thoughts forward and failing.

Josephine rankled me, how she thought she would have done things better, how she thought I wasn't doing enough with the power I had. Didn't she understand how complicated it had been for me? Being locked in my mind? Not having the chance to experiment at a young age?

In the haze anger came quicker, seemed to have more weight but it was holding me back. I focused not on her but the Originals. They were what I wanted to be dealt with first and foremost.

"Micah," said Mason with a smile that quickly punched a hole through my anger. The way he looked, the smile, the eyes, all of it taken together was enough that…I pushed back and focused on the anger. It was easy to forget I was a teenager, a male teenager, and that my body was going through a major phase.

"I started to think you weren't coming," he said.

"I was preparing for this," I said.

"I can see that," he said looking at the other. "You've brought your personal cavalry."

"Pretty insulting, that," Enzo muttered. "Makes a guy feel more like a goon than anything else."

"And aren't we?" said Jared. "We do follow his orders after all." There was just a bit of bite in the comment. He was still angry at me, but he could only display that through passive aggression.

Not really something to focus on because I could understand it. In the car I'd had time to think things through, put myself in his position and imagined if someone had cleaved open a chasm between Bonnie and me. Even if I liked that person something like that wouldn't be easily forgiven.

"I don't order," I said. "I just tell you what might happen in the future and most of the time you all agree with me that I have the best course of action."

Bonnie looked at me, her lips quirking. She wanted to say something but she just stopped herself, letting out a sigh and looking forward. Why? Because what she would say would be on the fear from before? Because she would have said something that would have shown we were no longer a united front?

"Right," said Mason. "Josephine has been waiting for you. Follow me?" I gave a nod and we followed, taking the enchanted rings to get into the house and moving to a drawing room in the second floor.

Josephine sat on a small table with a ragged book in front of her; the girl's sister sat on the floor beside Josephine, letting the older girl run a hand through her hair. It was adorable in a way I couldn't understand and it made me feel a pang of something watching it…loss? Did I perhaps have a younger sibling in the other life?

I pushed that back, thoughts like that were liable to send me in a depressive spiral.

Three more wolves were in the room with her, two of them men and the other a woman. The woman looked the oldest with weathered skin and a scar running from her neck to her lower face; one man was burly with dark skin; while the last was tall and lean, pale skin with very dark hair, his eyes shined as they looked my way.

"Micah," said Josephine with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She gave her sister a tap on the head while she stood, the girl got to her feet and ran out of the room. "Thank you for coming."

"We have a problem," I said. "Since we have an alliance its beneficial to all of us if we worked together." I told my mind to ease on the coldness, to put on a warm smile but I couldn't quite achieve the effect.

Josephine gave me a nod before she said, "If that's the case, the introductions are in order. These are members of my greater pack," she said. "Former Alphas who help keep order with a pack this big. We have Leah," she gestured at the woman who gave us a smile. "Eric," she said and looking at the man he seemed familiar, "and Hank." The man gave a bright grin.

"Pretty young for an Alpha aren't you?" said Bonnie.

"I come from a pack of four," he said. "Mostly my sister and my two cousins."

But he was still here. There was something there, something to be on the lookout for in the future.

"I think you might know us," I said. "But if you don't, my sister Bonnie, and my friends Enzo and Jared," I said gesturing to each. "I hope this isn't construed as rude but I feel we need to get into the crux of it all. There are other things I have to attend to in town."

"Of course," said Josephine and she took a seat. Mason closed the door and moved us towards a sofa were Bonnie and I sat, Enzo choosing to stand and Jared chose a separate seat. If she was anything like me then Josephine would have surely noticed that, but how she'd use it was the question.

 _If she'll even use it,_ a part of me thought. _Stop painting everyone as an enemy._

Smart but I didn't feel it. If I treated everyone like an enemy then my mind actually started putting an effort into deciphering them.

Josephine moved, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a match box. She lit the thing, throwing the burning match into a dirty tin and smoke flared out, white in colour. No doubt an enchantment of sort, maybe similar to ward Elijah had that had been Cloaking him.

"The matter of the Old One," said Josephine. "Elijah. You know what if foreshadow?"

I gave her a nod. "And the others know too," I said. "We've been mentally preparing for it for some time. We know the danger of the Originals so we've made it a point of not fighting them, giving them what they want as far as we can."

Leah's eyebrows furrowed at that and so too did Josephine's. No doubt for different reason. I could easily guess Josephine, but it was Leah that I couldn't quite read. Mason was also wearing a picture of confusion, but then he knew this to be false. He said nothing though.

"You're aware that he'll want Elena dead," said Josephine.

"We know," said Bonnie. "Which is why we worded the statement the way we did. Within reason we'll help them. No doubt there will be a way which won't result in Elena's death without actively fighting Elijah. It's safer to take that option."

"And Klaus?" said Josephine. "The moment he comes here."

"Your people are in danger," I interrupted. "I wouldn't blame you if you left."

Slowly shook her head. "No. Even with the danger we are invested in this town," she said. "On what has already been set with the hybrid, Tyler Lockwood. We have decided to stay."

"I can't say that we'll be able to protect you if anything happens," said Bonnie.

"We're wolves," said Eric. "We've never needed the aid of witches." Jared snorted at that but said nothing. A small action but I could see Eric react a little, his eyes moving to the tin before they moved back to Jared.

"As Eric has said," Josephine said. "We can protect ourselves. It's you, though, I'm worried about," she said looking straight at Bonnie. I felt my stomach sink even without knowing what she was going to say. "You come close to death when everything truly starts."

I didn't say anything, just watching. There was almost a sympathetic look to her as she said this, as she created fear. I glanced at Bonnie and she seemed to be shaking slightly, the anger came back and I wanted to say something before Bonnie spoke first.

"It wouldn't be the first time I've come close to death," she said.

"As manipulations go that was pitiful truth be told," said Jared.

"Not really," said Hank and he grinned, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. From those two words I got the sense that a lot had been communicated between him and Josephine.

Without the haze of anger this might have actually been fun. It was a fight of sorts, another pissing competition, with each side trying to gain ground over the other. Where I had shared brutal experiences with the others, Josephine had had time to garner a relationship with her people.

Who was winning was the harder part and it made me think that this was stupid to begin with, why weren't we just helping each other? No sooner had asked the question than my emotions answered me, it was because we didn't like each other.

I took a breath and remembered what Shane had said, that I was redirecting what I felt towards Josephine and it was probable that she was doing the same to me too. We were alike in many way which was probably why we didn't get along. We cared too much about those around us.

"It's different isn't it?" I said. Josephine frowned. "From what everyone imagines? From what no doubt you must have imagined? Having this sort of responsibility?"

She was quiet for a long time before she let out a tired chuckle. "The first two years of my life were spent constantly having nightmares," she said. "Of what Klaus does."

"In all honesty it's starting to now hit me," I said. "Panic attacks."

She reached into her jacket and pulled out a bottle of pills, shaking it. "Ditto. He's dangerous," she said. "Unstable."

"I know," I said in return. "But Elijah—"

"No," she interrupted. "I mean him. Elijah. Klaus, at least, knows he's deranged. But Elijah…" She shook her head, looking at me for the longest time before he said. "You don't know?"

I didn't like admitting it but I shook my head. "I don't think I do."

"You remember the broad strokes, right?" he said. "Of how vampires were created? Of the greater ingredient in it all?"

"Doppelgangers," I said. "They know."

"Well, the Doppelganger they used died," she said. "I can't remember who the official story says killed her—"

"Esther," I said.

"It wasn't her," she said. "It was Elijah. He killed her and then made Esther take away his memories. Everything less than noble he's done he's used the spell to lock away in a portion of his mind, pretending it never happened. He _is_ dangerous."

"But right now he's better than Klaus," I said. "His experimentations."

"If it comes down to it I'll tell him the truth from the get-go," she said. "Spare the deaths."

"Even with the bond?"

"We can win over that," she said. "These are all things I've thought about—"

"Which might well mean you're working towards them," I interrupted, the image of that particular plot coming to mind. "I'm sorry," I said. "Breaking the moment, but the knowledge that we have makes it very easy to become a chess master, particularly if you have objectives you're working towards."

"I already have a way of turning my people into hybrids," she said.

"But that's if Stefan can sustain everyone one of them—"

"Oh let's not pretend he can't," she said, annoyance in her voice. "Amara."

I shook my head. "Petrol and Diesel," I said. "Functionally they do the same thing but one lasts longer. We don't know the amount of power that Stefan can expand before he ceases. Amara's lucky in that she can't."

"But he's a vampire," said Hank.

"Clair games, guy," said Jared and he was grinning. "Don't say anything and just bask."

It was easy to forget that anyone else in the room existed. I was speaking to someone else who knew what I knew about this world. I lost my train of thought.

"Even so," she said. "We can't kill Klaus."

"I was never planning to," I said. "You know, this would be much easier if we just worked together, animosity aside, no disregarding what the other did through the years. We're facing Originals after all and they've got stronger witches."

"We could just call the Travellers," she said.

I shook my head. "We might be pushing things to come into effect sooner."

"What if," she said. "Stefan wasn't in the picture? I know enough about magic to know that there is power in rarity. We could use Mikael as an anchor for Tyler, he's an Original, he won't die and the man has been desiccating for however long he's been dessicating."

"What if we want to use him against Klaus?"

"Would you want to use him?" she asked and I shook my head. "Then this is the best course of action and it gives my people a measure of protection, also increasing the amount of arms you can make come to bare."

"That's if you don't betray us and just leave," said Enzo.

"Tyler is our anchor point," I said. I looked at Enzo. "You wanted us to go offensive. This a step towards that."

"Do I even have a choice?" he said. "I couldn't understand half of what was said."

"Tell me about it," Bonnie muttered.

 _A victory in one respect,_ I thought as I looked at her, _but a loss in another._

888

AN: Been a while, but I've got something of an excuse. I've been working on the other stories, editing or rewriting them so they're more coherent as a whole. It's taking more time than I thought, especially since I keep getting ideas for new stories that I really want to write. But I'll try and updating more in the coming month.


	17. Chapter 17

2-05

"That went far better than I thought," I said as I got into the car and cloaked all sound. For good measure I focused and built an abstract barrier in the car, it would take conscious effort to keep in a moving car but it was worth it.

I warped light so that we couldn't be seen by those beyond.

"You going to tell us much of that?" said Bonnie. "Or are we going to have to guess what we're working towards."

I let out a sigh and sat back, closing my eyes and pushing down the anger. The moment I did, the fear reared back, making my world shaky and turning my breaths into short pants. My heart immediately beat faster and I was lost in it, the memories came to fore but I pushed, working to bring back the anger.

"I'm not sure what you're feeling right now, Bonnie," I said and there was an edge of irritation in my voice. "But don't, alright. Right now I'm using anger to deal and I'm liable to lash out."

"Which is the reason you need to be called into question," she said and I felt more irritation at her. A response threatened to spill out but I pushed it back, my teeth clenching together to stop myself from irrecoverably muddying our relationship.

"I get that these are desperate times and that desperate measures are needed," she said. "But…I've been stewing over everything you've done for the past hour and it isn't you. The things you said to Andrew, that you're considering working with them and that you won't tell the Allied Council about blowing up the town's bridge?"

"Above and beyond the fact that he's about to do something stupid," Enzo said. I turned to look at him, feeling an amazing amount of betrayal. "Don't give me that. All of this is about me not dying," he said. "You not dying. The others not dying. What you're planning to do now, 'break' very powerful witches. It's…stupid frankly."

"You're burning bridges," Bonnie continued on the point. "You're not just burning them but blowing them up and I don't think that's needed. Now, I don't know the future," she said. "But I've seen the general thread, how you've been working for the longest time and it involves gathering allies."

"But I am doing that," I said, more irritation in my voice. "The wolves—"

"Are not to be trusted," Jared interrupted. "They've got a clairsentient. One that apparently knows more than you. Yet you think you've got the other hand. Consider, even for a second, that she's smarter than you."

I opened myself to speak but I stopped. Had I even once ever considered that fact? That she might be smarter than me? That, like Katherine or Anna, she would have countermeasures already in place to despatch me? That I would be forced to be reactive especially when I was so clouded?

"What do you suggest we do?" I asked.

"Think things through," said Bonnie. "See all of that we have to work with, try and be objective. You work through the panic attack and then we work with you when you're not so jaded."

"Enzo? Jared? You're a part of this too."

"What she said," said Enzo.

"Ditto," said Jared. "I like this you from an academic standpoint, but when I consider my mortality?" He shook his head. "I have this feeling that you missed a lot in that trade off. I have a feeling that she played you with bringing up the pills. I feel that the entire deal could have been better."

I let out another sigh. "Fine," I said and I let go of the anger only to have fear double back.

888

Pulling back was extremely hard. I had to let the fear run its course, I had to be back in a place where I felt unsafe and I had to work on the wards. Outside looking in it must have been as though I was possessed: I had Enzo search through the house to make sure that there wasn't anything new that wasn't supposed to be there, looking over the wards and seeing if anyone had tried to breach them and then I called Lucy.

"Sorry, kiddo," she said. "But I should be there in a few hours with a little help. I'm bringing over some people from Salem."

"I don't like that," I said. "But then I also like it. More people, more power. But it means Elijah sees us as a threat, thinks we're up to something."

"Wouldn't he already be thinking that?" she asked. "Better that he thinks that and we act than act slower. I don't like these guys and from the info you've given me on them even if they don't have raw power on their side they've still got accumulated knowledge. It's good that you didn't try to talk to them."

"More Bonnie's idea than mine," I said. I looked at my sister, reading her, and I could see there was a part of her that regretted that I had to do this, to feel this raw again.

"Your sister's smart and worth listening to," said Lucy. "I've got to go. Stay safe?"

"Yeah," said Bonnie. "We'll be expecting you."

I ended the call. "Elijah's no doubt watching," I said. "If we call the others…"

"We don't have to congregate," said Bonnie. "Conference call after school. We'll discuss this. But in the meantime it might be worth talking to Dad about all this. See how things went with the Allied Council."

"They really won't help us though," I said. "Too many head will mean this entire thing is spoilt. We might have a leak for all we know. Elijah will be covering all his basis even with the Vervain in the water supply there are obvious routes to go against that."

Jared gave me a long look. "I'll make it a point to point out whenever you're working towards manipulation," he said. "Because, like I said, I'm always watching out for it where you're concerned. Right there, what you just said, it's all just pointing us towards what you wanted in the first place: Us, making decision, and because there are less people you have to manipulate, you're more likely to get your way."

"Or maybe what I'm saying is really true," I said. "For Nature's sake you just have to look at our government to see that in action."

"Again, manipulation," said Jared. "You're not factoring in the complexities of politics. It's less about the greater whole and about the groups each politician is looking to have on their side. You're distilling that argument to further your own ends."

"It looks like you're going to dismiss everything I say at this point," I muttered.

"Not information," he said. "Unbiased information. We need to at least figure out the broad strokes of the path we're going to take. You can put your word in, but ultimately we're the planner until you…deal with yourself."

My panic attacks. I felt a little hurt that he was using them against me but it's what I deserved. I'd caused a chip to his and his brother's relationship. I wasn't sure that he could do the same with me or the fact that he wanted, but he was reaching to hurt me.

"Fine," I said with a shrug. Bonnie and Enzo weren't defending me, which added more hurt in all of this. More than anything I wanted Jeremy to be close, he got how my mind worked, he even thought like that. But he had his own sister to protect.

"Let's start with Elijah," said Bonnie. "How does he operation."

"That much you know, of course," Jared added.

My teeth grit together and this time I didn't even had to pull the anger forward before it was at the fore. I took a long breath before pushing it down but Jared had stopped at the look I'd shot in his direction, as I closed my eyes I had the image that he swallowed.

"Elijah likes working in the darkness," I said. "Where Klaus is a hammer, he's a scalpel. He'll act with precision. When he came here, when he showed himself, he did it because he had a plan in mind and we were a step towards that."

"So another chess master?" said Enzo.

"It's not as simple as that," said Bonnie. "How they play the game is still of importance. Anna was a chess master, but she was vastly different in her approach to Katherine. If the Originals are old then it's likely that all of them are chess masters in their own right."

"Any weakness we might use against him?" asked Jared.

"He's old and powerful," I said. "Even if he's taking this seriously, even if he's taking me seriously, there'll still be a point where he underestimates us."

"Not if he's been paying attention," said Bonnie. "We've faced two vampires, both formidable in their own right and both times we've won. He'll be underestimating us less than he would an unknown, more so because Micah's a clairsentient and they know the power a clairsentient can bring to bear."

"Fuck me, what if they have their own clairsentient?" I said and horror dawned. Why hadn't I thought about it like that before? Josephine was a player and the Martins had been the ones to mention the existence of other clairsentients in the first place.

"They can't have," said Bonnie. "Can they?" she said, looking at me.

"I don't know. Other clairsentients are blind spots for me," I said. "But if that's the case then…" I shook my head. "I don't like this thought process because it brings more problems with it, it means I can't effectively predict and we can't effectively _plan._ "

"It's better in the long term that we do," said Enzo. "We can't just put our hopes in the fact that they wouldn't have hunted for clairsentients in the first place."

"I'm afraid of saying this," said Jared. "But doesn't that mean Klaus could very well have one?"

I shook my head. "The timeline doesn't make sense for that," I said. "If he had a person like me then Klaus would have known from a long time past that another doppelganger was alive and here in Mystic Falls."

"Thank the gods for that," said Jared. "But it still doesn't discount that Elijah might have one. Isn't there a handy way of figuring it out? Without actually meeting them before hand?"

"It requires us waiting," I said. "How long it is until he finds the manor. If he ends up asking me about it, then it means he doesn't have one."

"Better that we factor that…" Enzo stopped. "Someone's coming," he said and he disappeared, appearing at the window. He let out a breath of relief as he said, "It's your dad. He's got his frown lines."

"Fuck," said Jared. We turned to look at him at that. "My brother's a lot like me. Vindictive."

The door opened at that moment and Dad rushed in. "You're going to blow up the bridge?" he said. "Not even talking to me? I thought we decided that you'd communicate more."

"I haven't done it, in my defence," I said.

"You were going to do it though," he said, "and don't even think about trying to lie to me, Micah. We're facing something legendary, for Christ sake, but I have to remind you every time that you're not alone?"

"Dad, calm down and listen to what I have to say about this—"

"No," said Dad. "Because you're going to say something that will convince me. It's better that I don't and fixate on the fact you haven't changed." He shook his head, pacing. "You got your wish, Micah. You're no longer going to school. I have vacation days to spend. I'm no longer trusting you to be on your own."

"So what, you're going to make my decisions for me?" I said. At some point I'd found my feet and the anger was coming back. "You're going to coddle me like I'm a child?"

"You are a child!" he said. "My child! I know you. I know that even in whatever mental state you were, you were really considering destroying the bridge and that you would have eventually found a way to do so. I think that all of this has translated in you not being able to make decisions on your own."

Anger, but this time it was more fiercer. The house shook and even though I tried to regain my breath, to push the anger down but it wasn't working.

I opened my mouth to speak, already pulling memories, the stuff that made Dad tick when all at once darkness flooded around me. It lifted a second later but I was no longer at Grams', but instead in our home in my bed.

I searched the rooms upstairs and there was no one. Downstairs and the only people there were Enzo and Jeremy, they were watching a football match.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Bonnie put under," said Jeremy. "She said you were going to say something you were going to regret."

I took a seat on the couch, watching as men ran around on a field. A part of me really wished I could understand the spot, get why people could get so impassioned in it. From my point of view it was irrational, but then a sports fan could say the same for me and my love for Harry Potter fiction.

"I'll have to assume I'm that I've been locked in," I said.

"Everyone's agreed that you're not in the best mind to be making decisions right now," said Jeremy. "We volunteered to…"

"Guard you," said Enzo after a sip of his beer. "Make sure you don't do anything stupid."

I sat back, throwing my head back as I looked at the sky. "We'd better hope to Nature that this wasn't all a part of Elijah's plan."

"That would be a very scary thought," said Enzo. "But one we can't do anything about right now."

I sighed. "I need to do something," I said. "Do I have the grimoires." Jeremy shook his head. I sighed again. "Smart. I would have found a way to get out of here."

"We know," said Jeremy. "You could let me practice my mental thing on you. Enzo said it can work on a witch."

"Sure," I said. I pushed my mind back to the experience. "I think it doesn't work when it's implanted images, more memories, something which has a stronger footing in your mind. You might want to try traumatic first."

Jeremy nodded and I sat through twinges of memories. Pain in my neck at times, the general sense of hopelessness and worst of all an unadulterated dread.

Fifteen minutes passed with these feeling before it started getting boring. None of the clear images I'd seen from Enzo. With that an idea hit.

"Enzo," I said and his eyebrows quirked. "This will seem odd, but do you mind showing me your torture."

"Why?" he said and the twinges of impulses had stopped. Jeremy was giving me a look.

"Because I want to feel pain," I said. "I've thought a lot about the measures that could be used to get information are either threatening those I love or physically torturing me. The first I would give more thought, if they threatened to kill the both of you, I would hate myself, but I would let it be done and then bring you back from the Other Side. But torture, I feel like I'd be loose lipped."

"Good to hear that you'd let us die," said Jeremy.

"You wouldn't?" I asked.

"Not if I can help it, no," he said. "But then neither would you. Fuck, it would be a hard decision. You're sure there's a way to come back from the Other Side. You haven't exactly been trying where Grams is concerned."

"That's because she thinks there's beauty in death," I said. "I spoke to her and a few others." I remembered that I hadn't told him about that. "When I accepted their power, they were supposed to give me a massive amount of power to do with whatever I wanted. Grams knew I'd use it to pull back the Other Side in some capacity so the ancestors didn't tell me about it," I said ending with a shrug.

"I'm putting the whole thing on the backburner for now," I said. "I wouldn't if one of you guys were dead. The Other Side is lonely for non-witches. So can we get this started? And don't stop even if I beg."

Enzo gave me a long look before he shrugged. It started and I immediately regretted it.


	18. Chapter 18

2-06

"You know I've been taking it easy on you right?" said Enzo. "That's not even five on the pain scale."

I was breathing hard with brow lined with sweat and my throat having gone hoarse from the screaming. An hour under the knives and I could still feel the phantom pains coursing through me. Even through the haze of pain I had time to find the interesting peculiarity of the memory sharing: It was easy to think that the memories would have less of a hold the more he played them, but instead it was the opposite.

Each time Enzo flashed a particular memory through me it help more weight in my mind, as though the experiences were slowly becoming my own. Was it possible that at its extreme the method might be its own sort of immortality, overwriting the memories of another person and high jacking their bodies?

It was perhaps something to look into in the future, but morality wise I had to wonder if it was a good idea. My beliefs on the matter were that we were our memories, by that same logic if the hypothesis was indeed true and a vampire could overwrite a person's memories, then it would be killing them.

"I dread to find out what a five is," I muttered. "Could I have some water."

Jeremy appeared a second later with a glass of water in hand. "Are you sure this is safe?" he said. "I can't help but think this might be bad for you."

"Voluntary torture often is," said Enzo. "But then it's a good idea. We really should be taking it slower though. The mind can break with too much pain."

"How come you didn't break?" asked Jeremy, a bit of trepidation in his voice.

Enzo was quiet for some time before he said, "Multiple anchors through it all. First it was trying to come up with an escape plan, hoping that their measures would fail and I might get my chance. Time passed and then Damon arrived, I changed track. I knew there was a route for escape and we could finally achieve it. He betrayed me and then I turned towards revenge, biding my time until something else turned up."

He gave me a look at that. Had he said thank you? So much had happened over the past few months and the conversation, if it had happened, wasn't really worth remembering.

"You guys aren't going to kiss, right?" said Jeremy. Enzo and I gave me a look. "Sorry, but the both of you had that _look._ Good thing too, I don't want to be the third wheel."

"You want us all to be lonely?" I said.

"Of course," said Jeremy. "If I'm ever a spinster I expect you to be a spinster too."

"More likely than anything in my case," I said. "I don't think a guy will ever be able to handle my intensity." I stood and stretched, my body shook but I worked to staying on my feet.

"Speaking of your love life," said Enzo. He and Jeremy were already back in the living room sitting. It was annoying the amount they were both showing off. "I take it your date with Luka is no longer on the table."

I shook my head. "Elijah made his move," I said. "I don't really have a reason to be there. Not to mention that I've been locked up. Makes dating kind of hard."

"Makes it harder when all the interesting people are taken," said Enzo.

"You're still upset over Caroline, aren't you?" I said with a grin. He scowled.

"Wait, what?" said Jeremy. "I didn't know about that. You didn't tell me about that," he said to me.

"In your late night gab session?" said Enzo. He shook his head. "This decade can be bemusing sometimes."

"Poor, Enzo," I said but I couldn't hold back the grin. "There are still beautiful woman in town." Enzo gave me a look and a raised brown. "Objectively speaking. I can tell if a woman the same way I can tell that other things are beautiful. More considerations on aesthetics than sexual attraction."

"I feel like you'd make a very good boyfriend," said Jeremy. "To a girl, that is."

"I doubt it. I'm a very hard person to like. But when you do I'm like a fungus. I grow and grow and grow until there's no hope of detaching me."

"It says a lot about you that you see yourself as a fungus," said Enzo. "Whether it's good or bad is something else entirely." He grabbed the remote and flicked through the TV, the channels passed by too quickly for me to see much of anything before he stopped on the History Channel.

It was some show about some war.

"How is the world?" asked Jeremy. "Now versus your century?"

"The much I've seen…better in places but still much the same. The major changes are how technology has advanced. The internet is a godsend though it's a little underutilised with all the cats. The race division is down which is strange."

"Tread lightly Enzo," I said.

"You know what I mean," he said. "There's still the same general edge, but…" He shrugged. "Things are a little better. But the one thing that's the best is the medicine. Consumption was the worst."

"Who turned you?" I asked. "Do you know?"

He nodded. "Only her first name. Lily," he said. "I was on my last breath, scrounging for any sliver of hope to beat the disease. Lily helped me see a doctor who was headed here. Turned out he was a charlatan. Lily took pity on me and gave me her blood. The doctor was my first victim."

"Where is she now? Lily?" Jeremy asked. Enzo's answer was a shrug.

"I could find her," I said. "If you want." Enzo said nothing. "Come on. I'm bored and I want to have something to do. The tracking spell is the only Linking magic that I know off by heart."

"She could be anywhere in the world," said Enzo.

"And we have maps," I said. "I'll pull power from the others for a sense of catharsis. There's also something I want to test out, putting a new twist on the Tracking spell."

Enzo shrugged and I grinned. We got to work, first with me getting the necessary materials. Jeremy drew the circles in chalks and put mounds of salt at four points. Enzo cut himself and I drank his blood. If I was right that would give me a link to him if I had his blood in my system. I told this to Jeremy, all of which he jotted down.

Enzo sat on a stool in the middle of the circle and I was there with him. I opened myself up, reaching for the mounds of salt and even more so on the power of the ancestors. I took another breath and reached deeper, waded past the connections of my coven mates and reached for the thread that would no doubt belong to Enzo.

Reaching for the linking didn't do much until I pushed power into hit. Enzo grunted, tensing and I pulled back.

"You mind telling me when you feel something?" I said. "I'll scale back when you feel pain."

He nodded. I pushed power into it, pushing more and less at his request. I got the sweet point but when I felt the link it wasn't as though it could sustain having a spell run through it.

"Do you think you'll be able to bear the pain?" I said. "I want the connect to sustain the spell."

"Sure," he said. I pushed more power, putting my hands at his temple. The connection became stronger and I pushed more power into it. "Fuck," Enzo said. "This, whatever it is, it better at least work," he said through grit teeth.

I started the Tracking spell and his connections opened up to me. The strongest would be the ties of blood, tied in with emotion. I felt the strongest and pushed power through it before pushing to its length. The thread was rather short before I hit a wall, though there was a little give.

I pushed more power into the thread, through Enzo and towards the block. There was more give but it still wasn't enough. I reached for power and it broke as I heard the barest edges of a scream. I pulled back.

Enzo, who was breathing hard, let himself fall back.

"That…Fuck," he said. "She's cloaked isn't she?" he said. "That's what that was?"

I nodded. "With enough power I could push through it, power that I have," I said. "But I think the process might be easier if I could get my hands on Luka's thread empowering spell. We'll have to talk to Tyler. He might be able to remember it. I could figure it out from there."

From the looks of it Enzo wasn't even listening.

"It must be a prison," he muttered under his breath.

"Why would that be your first thought?" said Jeremy.

He looked between me and Jeremy before he said, "She was a Ripper. Her and her family. It makes sense that she would have gotten attention. Why she would have been imprisoned instead of being killed though…this means she didn't just leave me. We have to find her."

"A Ripper?" said Jeremy.

"We can imprison her, too," I said. "Stefan was a Ripper and he was able to ween off of blood."

Jeremy shrugged. "At least it's your mind on something else," he said. "I'll call Tyler, see if he remembers."

I would have done that, but they'd taken my phone away too. Smart of them too all things considered.


	19. Chapter 19

2-07

"This isn't a means of escape, right?" Tyler's voice sounded on the other side of the line. "I've talked to Bonnie about it and she thinks Micah could use the spell to break the warding around the house."

"Um…you're on speaker," said Jeremy. "And I don't think it is?" he said to me.

"Nope," I said. "That would be crass of me."

"Give me a sec," he said. "You're on speaker. Bonnie, Micah wants me to give him the spell Luka used to find Uncle Mason. If I read it right, it can fortify threads to pass through Cloaking spells. It might be useable to break through with the twin thing."

"Which he would do," said Jared. "What's the context?"

"Context is me trying to help a friend," I said with a tired sigh. "And I hate the fact that all of a sudden I have to answer to people to do something."

"Let's not rehash this," said Bonnie. "Jer, what's going on?"

"We're helping out Enzo," Jeremy answered. "And no, it wasn't manipulation. At least not manipulation that I could see."

"I think we're going to need more to go on here," said Jared. Jeremy and I gave Enzo a look at that and the man had closed in, a restrained look in his eyes. He didn't want to share this and I gave a slight shake of the head.

Jeremy sighed. "It's… Can you just do this?" he said with an amount of irritation in his voice. "Make things less complicated?"

There was silence on the other side before Bonnie sighed. "Fine," she said. "Give it to them."

Tyler did, giving us a long spell which Jeremy wrote down. I took a few minutes to get accustomed to the spell before I began. Luka hadn't needed to channel anything beyond me, with made me think that it was okay that I didn't, but the it was likely he was channelling the wind around him and I hadn't even noticed.

We redrew the circle for the Tracking spell, but this time instead of mounds of salt, we put feathers in the circles.

"Wait, you can get out?" I said, aghast as Enzo just walked out of the house.

"Of course I can," he said. "What makes you think I couldn't?"

I shrugged, aware of the fact that if I really did want to get out of this place I might be able to. Bonnie and Jared were smart enough that they would have thought about messing with my connections with them. But even with a lot of work, short of breaking the connections, they could still be used to get me out of here.

All of that, with Enzo's blood in my system.

"I'm not going to leave, but I'm going to try something," I told them. I walked forward with my hand out held; I felt it as I touched the boundary, how the wall of air bent against my hand. Raw strength alone, even if it was meagre, and I could break through.

I pulled back, though. Enzo would think that everything since we'd started had been a ploy and I didn't need that.

"It's good to note that I'm very good at figuring this out," I said as I stepped back. "Can you try to make it an exotic bird? I don't think a sparrow will do."

Enzo gave me a nod before he walked over to his car. Jeremy and I moved back to the couch.

Silence stretched between the both of us before he said, "I have this image of you tearing down the foundation of this house."

I shook my head. "It's grating, that's for sure," I told him, letting out a tired sigh. "But this is my home. It wouldn't do to tear it down."

"That's not very reassuring," he said. "You do get what you did wrong, right? Why we felt the need to put you in here?"

"Everyone's been telling me over and over," I said. "It's hard not for it to sink it."

"But do you get it?" he said. "Beyond just hearing everyone being on you. Do you get what you did wrong?"

"Burning bridges, yeah," I said. "It's not smart. Not to mention that I've been lashing out. Part and parcel of using the anger. That has all been coming together in a loss of trust in how I deal with everything."

"We don't need you like that," said Jeremy. "I get it, you feel a sense of pressure from everything, the fear from the opponents and that you might be thinking about what happened with Bree." I shifted at the mention of her name. "It's...dangerous if you're not on your game and I don't think you are right now."

"I don't think I'll ever be, again," I said. I sighed running a hand through my hair. "Bree took something from me. She showed me how weak I really was, desecrating the only true safe space I thought I had." I let out another sigh. "The anger is my compensation measure," I said. "I don't have much power but I have words and I can use them to show a measure of strength."

"But you have strength," said Jeremy. "You have _us._ I don't know if you've noticed this, but you're the closest thing we have to a leader. I don't know about the others, but I trust you to the point that you saying you would bring me back from the Other Side isn't something I doubt in the slightest. I'm sure the others, even if it's in a small part, feel the same way."

"But how I've been acting hasn't been helping that, has it?" I said.

Jeremy shook his head. "You've been off our game," he said. "You need to find the balance from before. Just enough excitement from all this that you're not eerily calm, but also that bite directed at our enemies."

"I have been on and off lately, haven't I?" Jeremy gave a long look. For the nth time I sighed that had. "I'll try my best to stop that. Are you in the loop? With what the others are trying to do?"

"Broad strokes," said Jeremy. "They're making preparations on how to handle the Martins."

"They'll be expecting that," I said.

Jeremy shook his head. "Stefan thinks that it'll be the opposite. They'll expect us to be pissed, sure, but with Elijah as a looming threat they won't expect us to do much."

"But we will," I said. "Even with Elijah?"

"It's a risk worth taking," said Jeremy. "If we despatch of the Martins, or at least contain them, then hopefully you can work to getting them on our side. But if we have to kill them, then we will," he said. "Elijah will be angry, for sure, but for his plans to move forward he'll need a witch. That either means working with us or having to go out and find another witch willing to work with a vampire. He might miss his window."

"Good plan," I said. "Pity I'm going to miss it."


	20. Chapter 20

Interlude: Luka Martins

"I mean no disrespect," said Luka. The Original turned towards him and Luka stopped, the words momentarily lost. The man was looking at him with a curious gaze, so much behind it that Luka couldn't even imagine the thoughts in that old head.

Here was one of the oldest being in existence…well, still living being at any rate, but Luka had never really interacted with the spirits. Here he was and Luka was going to speak against him, speaking against his plans, he had the _gall._

Even so he had to continue forward.

"But, was it the best course of action to reveal yourself?" he said, pushing the words forward even though the baser part of him felt scared. Luka doubted it was magical, but there was a weight that ran off Elijah and bore down on him, forcing him to watch his words.

Elijah smiled a little, moving his eyes from Luka to his father who watched his son with a small amount of fear in his eyes.

"Rest assured, Mr Martins, that I have a plan in mind," he said, his words a slow drawl. He fixed himself up, buttoning his blazer and giving Luka his full attention. "I know how Mr Bennett will react, how the others will move around him, I think we can use their movement to better facilitate our ends."

"He's clairsentient, though," said Luka and he hated his mouth for pushing the conversation forward. "How do we know that he hasn't accounted for all this? Any move of failure on his part might be lulling us into a false sense of security."

Jonas was the one who spoke, forcing Luka to shift his attention to him as he shook his head. "That can't be true of his ability," he said. "He was surprised, attacked and almost died were it not for dumb luck. His ability is limited, it's unfortunate that we don't know what this limit is."

"Or it could be part of a greater plan," said Luka, a hint of desperation in his voice. "I've seen him, talked to him, but more importantly I've seen how the others act around him. He's manipulative, to the point that his friends constantly have to wonder if anything he's saying is working towards a particular end or just an honest conversation."

"Even so he's still human," said Elijah. "He has a human memory, which means the amount of plots he's able to put in action any one time are limited. The same cannot be said for me." Elijah smiled and Luka's stomach dropped, twisted and then churned. "Fret not, I have this well in hand."

"What's required on our end?" asked Jonas.

"More information on the wolves," said Elijah. "About their plans in town and particularly their clairsentient. Would she be open to working for us?"

Jonas shook his head. "She's headstrong, too used to being in power, to being the smartest person in the room. The same could be said for our Mr Bennett because the first time they met they butted heads. To work under someone would be nearly impossible for her."

"Not mentioning that wolves can be stubborn," said Elijah. "If I threaten her, she'll ally with Mr Bennett and they might actually stand a fighting chance against me. What does she want, do you know?"

"To find a way of countering the curse on her specie," Jonas answered. "They heard about Tyler and they've been working with Micah in some old ritual that will transfer the magic on Tyler to their greater pack. They're still in the testing phases."

"Do you think you would be able to do a better job?" Elijah asked. "Streamline the process?"

He shook, running a hand through his beard. "No, but Luka might. You've been looking at the problem haven't you?"

"I've been interested in it," said Luka. He shrugged apologetically. "It's hard not to get taken in by them, between Jared's enthusiasm for magic and Micah's…I don't know what it is, but he can reach inside of you and pull out a wider view of the world."

"You're enamoured," said Elijah.

Luka frowned, feeling a sense of resentment building. "It's hard not to be," he said. "I'm not used to people like this. Dad's pushed me into using magic, high level stuff, and then I meet other witches that are…petty in their use of magic. Children in a way. Then I come here and I find people that think bigger than I do."

"We have a mission here," said Jonas. "Remember that, son." The man put his hand on Luka's shoulder but it was harder still to push back the resentment: His mother had died and the moving had started, and then his sister had ran off and the moving had gotten fiercer. Now they were working with a vampire of all things to find her against a more ruthless vampire.

What was worse, Greta didn't want to be found.

"I know," he said, shrugging off the hand. He took a breath. "I think I might be able to streamline the process if I understood what they do. They're using a vampire, Stefan Salvatore, as a battery, which doesn't make sense. Where would a vampire get that much power? Enough to keep an unstable form from… You know," said Luka in realisation.

Elijah looked surprised by those words.

"It's similar to the look Micah gets when things click and his mind starts working. It was the same way when he looked at Matt and had the idea that we start building him his knife. You know why he's a battery."

"Yes, I do," said Elijah. "But I don't understand. It's something I'll put some effort into looking into it. But for now, it's safe to assume that Mr Salvatore will be able to sustain Mr Lockwood's transformation. Start working on ideas on how to streamline the process, if it's possible, a way that won't need Mr Lockwood's permission."

Luka nodded, though his stomach churned, more so when he looked at his father's placid expression.

"There's also the matter of an attack," said Elijah. "The details haven't been well planned out yet. But a witch is on her way here, of the Bennett line. Suffice to say they might take you down in an attempt to limit the number of witches I have in my employ, forcing me to use them."

"They'll outnumber us," said Luka. "How do we survive that?"

"By being smarter," said Jonas. "What weaknesses do they have? Anything we can use?"

"They're inexperienced," said Luka. "For all that they experiment it's more out of necessity than anything else. They're tightknit, which is a plus for them, but there's one outlier: Andrew, Jared's brother. He doesn't like Micah, doesn't like the influence that Micah has on his brother."

"Then we'll use him," said Jonas. "Promise him that we can give him his brother back. Do you think he'll be amenable to the offer?"

Luka shrugged. "I don't know much about him," he said. "The few times I've talked to him I thought he was being too uptight. There might have been history I've been missing, a greater context, but it always looked like there was something more I was missing."

"I'll talk to him," said Jonas. "You'll stay here in the house, feel out for any errant connections and re-layer the boundary spell, looking for any chinks."

"I'll escort you," said Elijah and the two of them left the apartment, leaving Luka on his own. He took a breath, feeling a pit settle in his stomach. With how fast things were moving it would only be so soon before they were forced to move again.

All this for someone who didn't even want to come back.

Luka closed his eyes and felt out his connections, he grabbed the second firmest and took a breath; the power rushed into him and he drove it into the connection, muttering the Tracking spell under his breath and moving along the line. In the real world he moved to a table and grabbed a notepad.

He hit a barrier but it caved and he passed through, met by the image of his sister's sleeping form, a large man sleeping next to her. Luka shuddered at the thought of what he might have seen were he a few minutes earlier.

Greta started awake, instantaneously a line moving parallel his own until the spell slammed into him. He saw Greta let out a relieved breath. She grabbed her sheets, covering herself while she rummaged for a pen and pencil.

 _What's up, little bro? Missing me?_

 _Yeah,_ he returned. _We're going to move soon. I can feel it._

 _You look like you're not enjoying that one bit,_ Greta wrote.

Luka let out a sigh, sifting through his feelings before he started writing. _I met a guy that's actually interesting,_ he wrote. _I was starting a relationship but, like I said,_ Dad.

 _You could just do what I did,_ she wrote back. _You, better than even me, know Dad's tricks. If you wanted to, you could hide from him. Maybe come to me until you settle._

 _You won't even tell me where you are,_ Luka wrote back.

 _That's because I'm not sure if you'd tell Dad or not,_ she wrote. _I know him, he'd probably drag me back if I found out where I was._

 _He would._ Luka shook his head. _It would break him if I left too. He'd be all alone, Nature knows what he would do then._

He couldn't hear it, but he saw how Greta's shoulders moved, the slight sag and the expression of anguish. _It's something you'll have to realise, little brother, that we can't keep living for Dad._ You _can't keep living for anyone but yourself. This is one of two lives, but the next has major restrictions in what we can actually achieve. It makes more sense to live this life to its fullest._

 _Even if that means abandoning family?_ Luka asked.

 _Even if it means abandoning family,_ Greta replied. The man beside her stirred. _I have to go before he gives me away,_ she wrote. _It was good talking to you little brother._

Luka gave her a nod and severed the connection. Greta had been gone for about two years, and for about a year and a half Luka had been in contact with her. It had been his first secret from his father, more bred because of wanting to keep a connection with his sister than anything else.

But time had passed and his father's search for Greta had gotten almost obsessive. At some point, though he hadn't consciously realised it, Luka had started fearing the prospect of his father ever finding out about his being in contact with Greta, about what how he might react and what he might do.

Luka knew his father wouldn't hurt him, not physically, but as he'd seen time and time again through his _moves_ there was other ways to hurt someone.

 _I can't trust Dad in all of this,_ he thought as he looked over the warding magic in the house. _But I also can't trust Greta. I can't trust Elijah or Klaus or anyone which doesn't leave me much options._

There was Micah, but then that was hard to gauge, harder still because it all could have been part of his master plan. There was Bonnie, but he hadn't actively worked on her as he'd worked on Micah. She was an unknown and with the Bennett coven knowing about him and his father, being wary, it was unlikely that they would be willing to spend enough to around him for him to learn.

Maybe the new clairvoyant? Luka shook his head, Elijah was already thinking in the direction and Luka didn't have any smarter plays where she was concerned. The more he thought about it the more he was lost.

 _Break it down. What do I want?_

 _My father to be happy, which means bringing Greta back._

 _My sister to be happy, which means her staying with Klaus._

 _Me happy, which means staying in one place and building a home._

But how could he get all of that? His mind started moving, drawing the lines and trying to connect them: First it was Klaus getting what he wanted and then being convinced to stay; then it was Greta staying with Klaus; then his Dad staying with Greta; and finally him growing his roots in this town.

 _All_ of it started with Elena Gilbert, once he had her, he could bargain. But it was getting her that was the problem.

Micah would surely know she was an important piece and thus she would have protection. Bonnie would be close to her and she would protect her with the backing of her ancestral power, even alone she would be hard to face. Unless he blindsided them.

But could he blindside them? Especially when everything could be part of the master plan of a clairsentient?

"Anything and everything I do could be a part of the plan," he muttered under his breath. "It therefore makes the most sense to pretend that Micah's ability is a non-factor."

It was thin, but it was the only way he would actually be able to move forward. Luka stood. He couldn't play this in a frontal assault, even with all the experience he had he didn't have their raw power.

So he needed to get on their good graces, which meant…

He pulled out his phone and called.

"Luka," said Bonnie on the other side. "What do you want?"

"To help you get Elijah," he said.

888

AN: I started writing this a couple of weeks ago, but then finals started late because of unrest in universities and then I got a labour intensive job for two weeks that didn't allow me _any_ rest—exaggeration but true enough. I'm back, though, and I'm on holiday which means updates.


	21. Chapter 21

2-08

"Phasmatos Tribum," I started and I took in a long breath, feeling out the churning wind at the periphery and drawing it in. It was harder, the focus put into the spell when I was constantly forced to push out power but I did my best.

It took a few tries, pushing and slipping with my push of magic before I could get a steady enough suction to sustain a connection. The thread between Enzo and his sire thickened with the power, growing fatter until it was five times its size.

I pushed forward until I made it to the edges of the boundary. It caved a little, but the pressure from the strengthened connection still wasn't enough to make a dent in the spell. I reached for more power, feeling the air becoming louder and the voices of the ancestors becoming more vivid.

Thicker and thicker the thread became; pushing against the invisible barrier but the thing was elastic, being pushed back instead of being pierced.

I was preparing to reach for more power when I felt something break, a dent in the outside world which caused the balance of the entire thing to unravel. All at once I was in the real world and on my knees with Jeremy standing inside the circle.

"What's going on?" I said, my voice shaky.

"You're bleeding," said Jeremy helping me to my feet. "You're spreading yourself too thin doing this on your own and I think you might be doing more than a recommended amount of damage to Enzo."

I shook my head, focusing enough to look and Enzo was on the floor, his face covered with blood and his breathing coming out laboured and wheezing. I pushed myself to my feet only for the world to shake, the edges becoming darker and my legs threatening to give out from the minute effort.

"Yeah," I muttered. "You were right to break the spell. Luka made this spell look a lot easier than it is."

"Or you might have just been rushing it," said Jeremy, a hint of exasperation in his tone. "Pushing yourself just for something to do."

"I'm not trying to kill myself if that's what you're getting at," I muttered. I caught myself and pushed myself to my feet, using the chair for stability; that Jeremy wasn't helping me spoke volumes about what he felt.

He said nothing, only glaring at me. When he moved it was to help Enzo up. "Are you okay," he asked.

"Yeah," said Enzo drawled. "Just…that took a lot out of me. Especially with so little actually done."

"It might be a task for the entirety of our coven," I said. "First though, I should put some actual work into learning the spell before we do this again. I'm not sure that a vampire can heal if their entire brain is turned into mush."

"They can," Enzo said, some of the words coming out in a slur. "So long as the blood's pumping they can heal from almost anything."

"Except decapitation," I said.

"Except decapitation," said Enzo. "But then, that's a special case isn't it? The body can only continue so long without the brain telling it what it's supposed to do. The healing will most probably start before cutting short when things cease."

"I really hate that I'm not a vampire-witch hybrid," I muttered when Enzo stood and stretched, his arm moving to wipe away at the blood on his face. Not even a full minute had passed and he was already alright.

"Then you could be stupid and not have to worry about the consequences," Jeremy said.

"It wasn't my fault I didn't know how much power the spell would need," I said. Jeremy gave me a long look. "Fine, it is _sort of_ my fault, but I was caught in the moment of finding out about Enzo's past," I said looking towards Enzo.

He shifted a little, guilt starting to show on his features.

"We might have been a smidge foolhardy," he said. "After all we don't have to rush this. We don't plan to die in the near future and even if we do die, you have countermeasures, right?"

"I know the series of events I need to put in place, yeah," I said.

"There _really_ was no need to rush," he said. "We know she's alive. She's a vampire which means she's unlikely to die if she's been caught in a boundary spell like I think."

"Okay, fine," I muttered taking a seat on the chair. "Do we have orange juice? I feel a little light headed."

Jeremy teleported to the fridge and back, bringing with him a carton of orange juice. After taking a healthy chug, we moved back into the living room and watched an old movie that Enzo severely broke apart.

"…that particular style is too early," he was saying. "It took a few years before it spread through much of Britain, it would have taken longer to reach America, especially for a commoner."

"How much does it say about you that you remember the fashion of way back when?" said Jeremy.

Enzo shrugged. "Almost all my clothes were second-hand," he said. "It became habit to watch the style, long for them."

"Your life sounds very depressing," I muttered under my breath. Jeremy shot me a look but Enzo only shrugged.

"It became much better as a vampire," he said. "Well, before I got captured. I travelled, had my fill of women even in the most remote tribes, fought in a few wars and then torture."

"You're immortal at least," said Jeremy. "There's still time for less depressive at the end of the road."

"Not with all that you lot get into," said Enzo. "We have to survive the Originals first."

"We'll survive," I said. Jeremy's phone buzzed and he picked it up, grunting a few times before he gave a short nod and dropped the line. Enzo was standing and already moving towards the door. "What's going on?"

"We're needed," said Jeremy. "Luka's telling us he can get us Elijah."

"Obviously a trap," I said.

"Except for the fact that he's also telling us where his father will be," Jeremy continued. "That Elijah has spies within our number and that they're sharing information. We're calling a council meeting."

"Has Lucy arrived yet?"

Jeremy shook his head. "Not yet."

"What about the boundary spell all of you have been afraid I might break through?" The both of them stopped and looked at me for the longest moment before they both broke into identical grins. "Fuck me, there's nothing really keeping me in, is there?"

Jeremy broke into a guffaw while Enzo said, "Not really. There's a physical boundary around the place but if you pushed hard enough it would fall in."

"Jared thought the idea of a boundary spell and us putting pressure on you would complete your abstract boundary," Jeremy said. "He's really pissed about what you said about his brother."

"Suppose I deserved this," I said. "Though I'm a little surprised Jared thought through all of this. Maybe Bonnie, but not Jared."

I got up, following Jeremy and Enzo out of the house. I touched the boundary and pushed and pretty quickly, the entire thing fell apart. We moved to the car and started driving, moving through town until we reached the church closest to the town centre; Pastor Young's congregation and there were already a few cars parked outside.

Bonnie was outside waiting for us when we arrived with Luka at her side. He shifted when I looked in his direction, but then again, if my features were mirroring what I felt, it wasn't a pretty picture.

"Tell him what you told me," said Bonnie.

Luka took a breath and said, "Elijah has spies within your group. A person or people he's been able to compel. He didn't tell me the names and I didn't ask."

I disregarded the words and more searched for how he held himself. _This_ situation wasn't something I had in my mental stores, nothing that had happened which meant I had to improvise. I was lucky enough to have two things going for me: That I was good at reading people and that the task was all the easier because I'd gotten to know Luka, even if most of it had been a façade.

His shoulders were drawn in, closed off which could have meant that he was rightly scared, but the direction of the fear was something I couldn't read. When he looked at me, in the moments that he did, I could see mingles of guilt amongst a brew of determination. He had a plot in motion, but what could that plot be?

 _Occam's razor,_ I thought. _He's lulling us into a false sense of security and this is part of some larger plan. But how can we play it on our side?_

Before we'd played along because we hadn't had much of a choice. Even with my future knowledge they still beat us in raw strength. This was true even now, but in a matter of hours it wouldn't be that way.

Ideas came together and spread out: How they would rationally move if they had this information on hand. What new plans they would form. How old plans would be restructured. Even so I couldn't see in which direction this took us.

But then, he'd only said three sentences.

"Go on," I said. He'd stopped, I really hated that I was so easy to read, that everyone could see it when I was running through ideas, when they thought I was _looking_ at the memories of the future.

A part of me wondered what everyone would think if they knew that a majority of this was guesswork?

"I know that I've been working for him, that Dad's still working for him, but I've had an epiphany, that this isn't the path I should be taking things."

"And what is that path, may I ask," said Enzo.

"That I have to look out for me first and foremost," he said, there was something in his voice, something in how he held himself, how he looked at us.

"Lie," said Jeremy. I looked at him with a quirked eyebrow. "YouTube," he said though it didn't explain much. To Luka he said, "Try again. Because the more you lie, the less we believe you in future, and the more likely we are to Cloak and Bind you."

Luka's eyes bulged a little. He took in a large breath before he slowly let it out. "Do you know why we're working for Elijah?" he asked. Me in particular.

"I do, but explain for the others that might not," I said.

"It's because Dad believes that my sister, Greta, is being held captive by Klaus. She isn't, nor is she brainwashed or whatever, that's all things Dad's saying to convince himself that she didn't leave because of him, that she might be better off."

"How do you know this?" I asked. "She's supposed to be cloaked."

"We chat," he said with a shrug. Saying that almost sounded painful. "She isn't putting as much effort of hiding from me as she is from Dad. Anyway my sister told me to work towards _me_ being happier than just Dad. But for the life of me I can't. I'm hoping for your help in getting my sister and Dad together, but also that I don't get to move at the end of the day."

"How does this help you?" asked Bonnie. "This course of action, I mean."

"Micah," he said. "If everything you guys say about him is true, I'm hoping he'll put through the mental effort to play events into me getting what I want."

I was quiet, watching him. He seemed earnest, at least, but did that translate itself into truth?

"This all seems a touch too convenient," Enzo said but he sounded far away. I was trying to pull forward images of Greta, she really hadn't been much of a presence save a witch that had run a spell, certainly less of a presence than the rest of her family.

I didn't know what drove her, which meant I couldn't really put effort into working things to making her stay with her family; adding to all of it that I really didn't know the dynamic of Luka and his family. I knew they moved a lot which meant I could hazard the guess that the kids had hated that. But had that been enough for Greta to move?

Too many unknowns and too much guesswork for my liking.

"That's what I thought," said Bonnie. "But the threat that Elijah might have a spy is too great. It ruins any plans we might be shooting in his direction because he'll have forewarning."

"Also the fact that he could be playing things like Anna," said Jeremy. "He could have a horde of compelled people acting as his spies. For that matter he could have kill orders just in case he losses, if he gets caught and needs to force us to release him."

"Not his style," I said. "But then there's an aspect of him I don't know. Can I have your phone." Bonnie pulled out her phone and I searched through her contacts until I found the name. I didn't like doing this, but this was my family and friends' lives on the line.

"Josephine," I said when she picked up. "Luka's switching sides. How likely is that?"

"Very unlikely," she said. "But then again you've changed what I know." She took a breath. "From what I remember he followed his father before he died."

That got a reaction.

"FYI he's listening to you," I said.

"Don't care," she said. "Not a factor in my plans and I'm not about to filter my thinking process. If he were turning sides then it definitely wouldn't be turning against his father. Except if it was some twisted love thing. The Klaus sort of love."

"I'm not getting that," I said. "He's working towards a greater selfish goal that's made up of selfless parts. He wants to reunite his family but ensure they stop moving around a lot."

"I could see that," she said. "But then I'd have a better feel for the situation if I wasn't being forced to thi—Elijah's outside. I have to go." She dropped the line.

I gave Luka a pointed look.

"He told us that that would happen," said Bonnie. "That right now Elijah and his father are moving on two fronts. One is trying to court Josephine while the other is working on Andrew. Jared is dealing with that right now."

I sighed, running a hand through my brow. "Made all the worse by my outburst earlier. Three people very good with Linking magic against us and on the other side, one person who's passably good with its counter."

"You think he'll succeed in convincing him?" said Jeremy.

I shrugged. "Andrew's spiteful, sure, but would he be that spiteful? But then again, there's the Klaus kind of love."

"What does that even mean, anyway?" said Enzo.

"The kind of love that means stabbing your siblings in the heart and putting then in a deep sleep and saying you're 'protecting' them; killing every man your sister loves because you don't want them to hurt her, all the while ignoring all the damage you're doing. If it hasn't become clear to anyone, the Originals are all kinds of screwed up."

"At least there are only two we have to deal with," Enzo muttered. "Until you and Josephine muck things up, that is."

"We're moving away from the point we should be focusing on, though," said Bonnie. "Luka, what do we do about him?"

"Not trust him, obviously," said Jeremy.

"Not trust him," I said, "but trust that he's working for his family." He wasn't looking at me, sort of looking to the ground. "He's got a plot brewing, I can feel it. But I'll need a little more time to see the general thread of how things flow and figure it out."

"That done, we're boarding up the church," she said. "Whoever our mole is, we need to make it so that nothing gets out."

I grinned at that. We would be building an abstract boundary, pushing the church into a pocket dimension. My first large iteration of Lucy's spell.


	22. Chapter 22

2-09

"Your brother?" I said.

Jared shrugged, looking uncomfortable and tired. "It could be anything at this point," he said. He looked at his phone, stowing it in his pocket before running a hand through his hair. "He's angry. Angrier than I've ever seen in my life. I honestly don't think I can predict him."

"Unstable element in all of this," I said. Jared glared in my direction. "Sorry," I said. "I didn't mean that in a mean way…Just…" I looked at Jeremy for help and he just shook his head, his eyes bulging before raising his hands in surrender.

This was my problem and he wasn't going to help me in sorting it out.

"An uncontrolled and unpredictable variable?" Enzo suggested.

"Yeah, that," I said. "Opting on the side of caution, Andrew's going to betray us. Remove the hooks I've set on his brother and with how knowledgeable as he is with links it's dangerous having Jared with us."

"Also dangerous if I'm not," said Jared. "A ritual and he could imbue himself with a facsimile of the link I share with you guys. But then, something like that would require power he doesn't have."

"Power my father might have," said Luka. "For heavy rituals Dad's been having us pull power from Elijah. They could do this."

"We really need to get Luka's father out of the picture," I said. "The jails are functional. We haven't added the complexity which means his escape is eventual. But at least it means we don't have to worry about him drawing power from Elijah."

Luka shook his head. "You won't be able to take my Dad, even if you can overpower him," he said. "He's old and he has experience, with the accumulated grimoires of thirteen covens."

"But we have you," said Bonnie. "Jared did something once. Used his connection to his brother to put him to sleep before he could do anything. You could do the same to your father."

Luka shifted. "But…"

"It would be drawing a line," I said, interrupting. "Making it harder to show him in the future that you were doing all of this for him. But you don't have many choices do you? Make the sacrifice right now for the gain into the future."

A moment passed where he was quiet, his features scrunched as he thought. He could still be playing us, but like this, I was limiting options for him. Even if he would try to help his father along when it came to escaping, it still required _effort,_ something that would be hard to do when we were watching. Added to all of this that I didn't trust that I wouldn't betray him once his father was out of the equation. There was just too much I didn't know here for my liking.

"I'll do it," he said. "I don't like it, but I'll do it."

"After he speaks with Andrew," I said. People were already arriving, a few of the families giving us waves as they passed. Claude walked through, fully adorned in his Sheriff's uniform, he quirked a brow as he saw us congregated. "Right now we need to deal with this, and we might need Lucy if this goes south."

Jeremy and Enzo got to work as discreetly as they could. This time we used vampire blood as anchors points. They were magical enough that a few drops could be visible when I was starting the boundary, and they weren't as obtrusive as mounds of salt.

We moved into the church, going into the large basement that, of itself, seemed to be another floor of the church. We positioned ourselves in the centre and got started on the spell, making sure that we first altered the room so we couldn't be heard by the vampires and werewolves that were arriving on the floor above.

It didn't take too many iterations before the boundary was complete, the barrier formed within my mind and a connection opened between me and the properties of the world within. With the boundary spell activated, I could feel every dimension within the space, feel the deviations of the wind from the outside, how heat fell on surface and it was dispersed, and I could feel the vibrations though they didn't make much sense.

I began working, pushing properties into the boundary on the physical and magical aspects of reality; walls, invisible to sight, were built, with the imagined property that they would severe threads connecting to the outside—power left me in a rush as the concept became reality. Another wall, but this one kept everything in. Another wall, and this one I put concepts behind it, people that wouldn't be allowed to enter and signals that were stopped.

When my eyes opened, Jared and Bonnie were no longer in the room with me, instead I was with Stefan and Enzo.

"It's done," I said. "Everything upstairs?"

"Everyone's arrived, speaking amongst themselves, most of them are antsy," said Stefan. "Claude is outside. He knew all of you were up to something the moment you disappeared."

"Trust him to be paranoid," I said and sighed. Our relationship had been strained since everything had started. My fault because I liked things my way, and his fault too because he liked things his way. Looking back, with the clarity of hindsight, I was beginning to noticed a trend where I was concerned.

If it wasn't manipulation, then I was drawing lines, making it hard for people to like me. Looking to what I'd done to Jared and Andrew I was hit by a sense of guilt. I put myself in his position, a person with knowledge of the future messing up my relationship with Bonnie. To make things worse, it wasn't because it moved a particular plan forward but because I'd been angry and scared, and he'd been a handy target.

I stepped outside, trying my best not to lash out as I saw his expression.

"What are all of you planning," he said, tone sharp and with a bite behind it.

It made no sense not to tell him, especially when we were about to do the same upstairs. I shared a look with Enzo, willing him to realise that I was going to tell him and with vampires and wolves upstairs, one of them being Dad, they would no doubt hear.

He disappeared.

"We have a mole," I said. "Elijah's got a person or people compelled in our group. He's been able to get information on our plans."

"And how do you know that?" he asked. I didn't have time to answer before he said, "We have our own mole. The boy most likely. You seem to work better with the emotionally impulsive."

"And there's that secret gone," Stefan muttered. "Luka will be in danger now. We don't know the countermeasures the two of them have and they might have a direct link even with our measures."

Claude opened his mouth to speak but I shook my head, cutting him off. "Let's go upstairs, alright? I don't want this repeated twice and if I'm reading this right there'll be a lot of similar questions to the people upstairs."

Claude nodded and the three of us scaled upstairs to the first floor. People were already sitting, with Dad, Pastor Young and Bonnie at the front speaking amongst themselves; that they would speak like that made me think that they had enchantments to ensure they couldn't be seen.

I moved to sit beside Jeremy, Claude separating towards other members of the Allied Council.

I looked about and all the leaders of the Founding Families were here: The Lockwoods, comprised of the Mayor and his wife and Tyler, though he was sitting with us. The Maxwells, with Alicia Maxwell and her daughter sitting beside her, Cassandra, and the girl's cousins Troy and Dianna; as an extended member of the Maxwell family Claude sat in their midst. Then there was the husband and wife pair Patrick and Alicia Maxwell.

 _Looking_ for the first time, I was struck by how large the Maxwell brood was, and the amount of power they had when it came to voting.

Mr Fell, the sole member of his family still in town, sat beside Jenna. Beside them were Elena, Stefan and Caroline, along with Caroline's fathers and her stepsister. She looked shocked by everything, but I'd sort of included her in everything by showing her magic.

Then there were the people with enough influence to be in the council even if they weren't members of the founding family. Brody Shield, a member of the first black families to reside in the town, his daughter, a girl that was in her late twenties sat beside her father looking at everything with excitement; then there was Rebecca Ashton, a member of the Sheriff's office; Michael and Claire Rigby, who had ties to the Smallwood family, and thus honorary founders; and a few other members of the Sherriff's office, the teachers and principal from the various schools and some doctors from our hospital.

Murmurs were being shared before Pastor Young cleared his throat.

Their conversation done up top, Bonnie moved and sat in an open seat next to Elena and Caroline.

"My apologies, everyone, for calling another meeting after we've just completed discussions on a weighty subject," he said. "But," and he sighed, "new information has come to us. I'll leave Rudy to explain."

Dad walked to the dais and said, "Everyone is cognizant of the fact that the Original threat has already arrived. But we've received information that's particularly disheartening in our efforts to take him down…We have a mole in our midst," Dad said gravely.

Murmurs immediately broke out before a voice said, "How?" I looked in the direction and it was Alicia. "We've all been drinking Vervain. That shouldn't be possible." Her tone warped as she said that, her head moving a little towards her daughter.

Beyond having seen the effect of Vervain, Jeremy had described it to me as I'd watched him take one of his daily doses, saying it was akin to gulping down boiling water. To have to do that every day must have been excruciating, especially since Cassie wasn't in the middle of all of this, only forced into vampirism through Damon's machinations.

"Vervain isn't fool proof," Dad explained. "Which is the reason why we ask you to drink it daily. I've asked and it functions by running its course through the blood. If you drain someone's blood enough, the effect of Vervain ceases."

"So that's what happened?" said Claude. "To one of us? How do we stop it?"

The doors opened in that moment, dramatic and forcing everyone to look back, me joining them. Beyond stood Lucy and three coven mates; two of them were woman, with the last being a tall guy with curly red hair, tanned skin and the most _interesting_ features.

"That's where we come in," said Lucy with a massive grin.

I couldn't help but frown, that didn't make sense, had she been waiting outside all that time? She and her group were walking forward, she winked in my direction when she was close enough. Her coven-mates found seats behind us while she moved ahead.

"Hey," I said turning back, hand extended at the red-head. "Micah."

"Jasper," he said. "And Amber," he said gesturing at a tall woman with olive toned skin and dark hair, "and Vivian," this time to the short woman with a brown pixie cut. He took my hand at shook it.

"You going to introduce us Mike?" said Jeremy and he wore a massive grin.

"Later," I said. "How did she do it? The whole dramatic entrance thing?" I asked Jasper.

"You are so much like her," he said with a small smile. "She said you'd appreciate it, and that it would drive you crazy not to know."

"So you won't tell me?" His grin got wider, playful, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Fine. I'll figure it out anyway." I sat forward, listening as Lucy started to speak.

"It could either be magic or compulsion," she said. "To those that don't know, the Martins are working for Elijah which is harder for us but doable. There are spells to see threads and we'll sever them, but if it's compulsion, the answer is brutal."

"But there is an answer?" said Michael Rigby.

"Yes," she said, "and you can thank Micah for that. Got the spell from New Orleans. I've been told the pain is unbearable as we strip the compulsion from you. Brute forcing the process of doing away with mental commands."

"After which we discuss our plans to move forward," said Dad, regaining control. "How we move forward with the information we have now that we have the power to do something."

"What about those that aren't here?" asked Brody Shield. He looked around. "Staying here too long might alert the Original to the fact that we're planning against him."

"There's not much we can do against that," said Dad. "All we can do is focus on the people here."

"But it works in our advantage," I said. Eyes moved in my direction and I saw a long suffering sigh held back by Dad and Claude, though the latter looked like he'd been expecting this.

"Right now Elijah's on his way to making deals that would disadvantage us," I continued. "I don't think he'll succeed but that's not the point. Right now, he can't investigate our meeting and the people on the outside will only tell him that there's a meeting. We're all on edge enough the people he's compelled in here won't have opportunity to send a message."

"Except through magic," said Alicia Maxwell.

"They've already thought of that," said Claude. "They were scheming when I got here and the three witches disappeared. No doubt there's a Boundary spell around this place."

The looks in my direction turned to accusation.

"We have a mole," I said. "What did you expect? Me telling you all the nitty gritty of the plan so it could be countered?"

"Less accusation," Jeremy whispered beside me. "It's wrong that we didn't tell you, sure," he said. "But he's got a point. There was too much risk of leak. Something we can all agree that we can't have. This made the most sense with a limited amount of time."

"It's odd that we have a mole and yet we don't consider the obvious suspect," said Deputy Rebecca Ashton. "The boy who was here."

"Apparently Micah turned him," said Claude. "In either case we should be moving this along. I don't like leaving so many new recruits alone in the office."

Lucy gave a nod at that. "We'll start with the circles, luckily there are six witches in the room which means—" She didn't finish, instead she lurched, a shocked expression on her before the crack hit us.

Dad was quick enough to catch her but the bullet had landed and there was blood in a room that was filled with vampires. Cassandra was the first to act, lunging towards Lucy before she was stopped by Stefan who slammed into her, changing her momentum and both landing beyond a crowd of people.

Caroline was next, getting to her feet and starting towards Lucy before she stopped herself, her eyes scrunched shut and muttering to herself what looked like a mantra. She quickly whipped around and was about to lunge at the Maxwell clan sitting behind her when Mr Fell took hold of her neck and pulled. Caroline manoeuvred, reversing the hold, grabbing Mr Fell by the neck and twisting with a sickling crunch.

All of it moving too fast with too much happening and people were panicking. The Maxwells tried to scatter, while five separate people had their guns out which made it harder to pinpoint where the initial gunshot had come from; the Salem coven, as one, had gotten to their feet and were in the midst of singing a spell together before a canister flew through the air, spreading smoke as it moved.

"Motus," I said focusing on pushing the canister back and the world shook, edges of darkness encroaching on my vision. The thing had enough magic empowering it that trying to move it had required too much magi.

Jeremy moved into the fray, passing through the smoke while I was grabbed and found myself at the edges of the room with Enzo beside. Enzo disappeared and grabbed one of the benches. He pulled and the thing splintered, he positioned it as a shield before he put it in front of me.

I tried to focus, but the hit had been too much and it was hard, the entire picture around me coming up disjointed.

The smoke was just starting to reach the Salem Coven and they were starting to falter, but they pushed kept on singing until all at once seven forms were on the roof holding their guns and unable to let go. Vivian was the first to fall, getting into a harsh coughing fit before she toppled over. Enzo appeared beside Jasper and Amber, taking both by the waists before he had appeared beside me.

Traces of the smoke hit me and they hit harshly against the back of my throat. My concentration slipped and the greater image of the room changed: There was now more smoke permeating the room but also everyone vampire was on the floor, screams coming from a few sources.

I took a breath and with the gas so spread out I got a whiff of it. The image jumped and there were a few people in the room with gas masks on walking around, three in total. I looked at Lucy and she was still on the ground breathing shakily while Dad writhed beside her, his expression of pain.

One of the masked people walked towards me and the Salem Coven. The woman pulled out a few zip ties as she moved closer. She didn't start with me, instead moving to Jasper and Amber, tying them together before she reached and pulled out a piece of duct tape, slapping it over their mouths.

She quickly followed up with me, pulling the things until the dug against my wrists. Beyond the mask I couldn't see who she was, but she moved with confidence as she walked within the smoke again.

 _This is Elijah you're dealing with Micah,_ I thought as I sat, watching as the image jumped to when there was less smoke, my thoughts coming easier this time.

 _Not Anna, not Catherine. As smarter as you think you are, he's smarter. Now get everyone out of this alive._

888

AN: Wrote this chapter before I learned that Matt was a Maxwell and the role that the Maxwells play in Mystic Fall's history. This is one of the infuriating thing about writing fan fiction about a story that's still going on but I'll make do.

The last chapter ended somewhat anti-climatically, so this is this is a climax, or at least working towards one.


	23. Chapter 23

2-10

Three people really moved, walking within the smoke, unfettered by its effect. I slowly moved my head, making sure my breathing was slow and controlled, breathing only when I needed to because there was still enough of the smoke around that time would jump though it was shorter now.

Seven people were still in the ceiling, some connected by their weapons while others by their bodies. There were expressions of pain from those who were forced to keep themselves aloft, for most it didn't look like exercise was something they did much. Though I wasn't one to speak on that matter.

The floor was littered with clusters of people, members of the Allied Council that were bound in groups of three, duct tape plastered on their mouths; vampires were also bound though they'd been do so with ropes, their expression still scrunched in pain which made me think that music box was still in play.

Bonnie was at the furthest end of the church, bound much like I had been, beside her were Elena and Jeremy, the latter of which looked worse for wear. Lucy was still on the ground, though her breathing had even out and she didn't look as pale as she had before she'd been shot; that either meant she had protective spells on her or the three had healed her. The former made the most amount of sense.

The other Salem Witches were also scatter, none of them too closely to the other. Then there was me, who was just sitting and watching everything without doing much. But really what could I do?

I didn't have access to magic, because every time I focused on the will power to create a spell, my concentration slipped as time lagged. It was likely that the same had been said for the others and now they were trying to think on ways to move forward.

Slowly, I took a breath, feeling as the smoke hit the back of my throat and time jumped again, the three having found different positions; I pushed my mind towards thinking this through: What do I have?

I had magic. But I couldn't use it.

I had my vampire friends. But I couldn't use them.

I had Luka and his dubious allegiance. But his allegiance was too dubious for him to be let out of his temporary cell. Not to mention that it would be harder for me to do that than it would be Bonnie or Jared, the people who'd created the boundary that held Luka.

I had my body. But it was bound sufficiently enough that I couldn't use it. Not that I was much of a fighter in the first place.

I had my mouth. But I couldn't use it and I didn't have enough knowledge to know _how_ to use it.

There was the knowledge of the future. But again, I couldn't use it because this situation was unfamiliar and worse, I was at the back end of it. Elijah wasn't here personally which meant I couldn't manipulate him. Instead I was dealing with forces that were under compulsion, working on a limited set of orders.

I took another breath and time jumped again.

What else did I have? I had connections stretching outwards, to my sister and to Jared and to the ancestors though they couldn't help me here. I had connections to the boundary spells I hadn't anchored, which meant the boundary spell around Mystic Falls' welcome sign and the boundary spell around this place.

An idea hit and in my excitement, I took in a gulp of air, it was too much too quickly and the smoke hit too harshly; time jumped and there was one standing in front of me, a phone held in hand and pressing before they stopped, moving away.

They couldn't contact anyone outside, but if there was any mole keeping track on the comings and goings of members of the Allied Council, they would have called Elijah or Mr Martins. These three were just waiting for Elijah to come and strip the boundary and the message to be sent.

But how would Elijah react to this? How would Luka's father?

I pushed the thread of thought down and instead focused on getting us out of here. I had a boundary spell that I controlled entirely, enough that I could control the physics of this place, but doing that would require energy and contraction; the former was made hard because of the smoke and the jumps in time, while the latter was hard because too much energy moving through me and I might die.

 _Have to start small,_ I thought. _Do the least of work for the most amount of damage._

Which meant what? A minute passed thinking on the matter before I had to breathe again and time jumped. An inkling of an idea formed and I hoped that it would work.

Sound was just vibrations that passed through particles. If there was a vacuum, then sound wouldn't travel.

I felt the urge to take a breath but I held it back, instead I conceptualised what I wanted. I glared in Enzo's direction, imagining the straight path between me and him. I imagined a thick pipe that was made of air, imagined the air moving through it; around the tube, I imagine another tube, and in this one I slowly pulled out the air, imagine that it was in penetrable as glass.

Doing all this, I felt as energy left me in quick order, my head growing heavier with each second that passed. I looked at the three, tracking their positions and preparing to speak when I took a breath and time jumped, the entire image falling apart.

I wanted to shake my head but it would be too much work. I'd been target Enzo because a part of me wanted to see if he was really being affected by their countermeasures of if he was playing dead. He was the one with the highest pain tolerance in the room and maybe he could end this if the music boxes effect were dulled.

 _But that's unlikely,_ the thought came. _If he has a high pain threshold then the music box shouldn't have affected him in the first place. More likely they have Vervain through his system._

Which meant looking for help from the vampires wasn't likely. It would have to be the witches, people I was sure weren't affected by Elijah's compulsion. But if our captors were smart, they would be keeping track of the witches…all except the witch that was grievous injured.

Another idea was ringing through my mind and I had two targets. Jared, who was knocked out and likely in a coma with how long he'd been asleep, or Lucy who'd been shot but looked better than she had.

A second's thought and I decided the coma was too much of a gamble.

I glared towards and imagine a ball of air around her head; the ball was layered, the layers moving in different directions. I imagine air moving into the configuration, moving through hole in the bubble, but the holes steadily got smaller. The overall effect was supposed to be oxygen rushing in while the gas was kept at bay.

In my mind, the more complicated the compound the larger it was supposed to be, which meant that magic would interpret me wanting holes in the configuration, as me wanting holes that only oxygen could move through and keeping out anything larger.

My head started getting heavier again, edges of darkness starting to encroach on my vision. I felt something cool starting to trickle down my nose and our captors noticed.

"He's doing something," said a man, his voice deep and coming out queerly under the mask. "Should I gas him?" he said, looking at another.

The woman sighed. "It's our last canister," she said, "and we don't know when Elijah will get here."

"We don't do anything and he could kill himself," said another woman.

"Rather him than us," the first man said.

The woman shook her head. "We do that and we're as good as dead," she said. "The boss said the Bennetts don't die."

"Unless they cause too much trouble," said the first man. "I think this is too much trouble." His tone was biting, a hatred there. But even with this I couldn't pinpoint who he was. Instead I focused on keeping the darkness at bay and working my configuration.

I didn't know how long the gas would be there before she could focus again, but I didn't have the energy to conceptualise anything else. An idea came to conceptualise pulling the gas out of her system but that was dangerous at my normal state much less when I was this heavily inebriated. I continued working, feeling more blood starting to leave me

"Gas him," said the woman.

The first man pulled out a canister and pulled it's pin. He put the thing in front of me and stepped back, the smoke already starting to billow out. I held my breath, fighting back the darkness and moving the thing in my mind. But it was trying to do too much and the first to go was holding my breath.

A breath in and it caught the back of my throat and time jumped: The image was stilted, anchoring and jumping too fast. It didn't show that my bid had done anything and what was worse there was the periphery feeling of _something_ going on beyond that.

All of it culminating in a large sudden pressure, enough that it momentarily pushed away the effects of the gas and gave me an image of the church. The church was shaking with the door doing the major part of it. Looking up the windows were near to shattering.

Mr Martin and he was trying to get in.

One person with a lot of power running through them wouldn't have been able to brute-force my boundary spells. No doubt he was using his connection with his father, but there were just too many layers for him to do it neatly.

If Bonnie and Jared had been smart, and indeed they were, then they would have made it so that the barrier holding Luka in would be a separate room entirely to the church. Mr Martin would first need to break _that_ barrier before he could use his connection to his son to break into the church.

But even so there was resistance. Technically, the room was a separate entity to the greater church, but the thread from Luka to his father ran through the church. Which meant it took more effort to break into Luka's boundary since a lot of power would have to go into breaching my boundary spell.

All of this together, though, didn't make it any less a certainty that he would be able to breach the boundary.

The doors to the church all at once swooped open and with them a massive gust of wind. Even that wind didn't do very well in pushing away the smoke that still hung around me. Time jumped and when I came to the windows around us had shattered.

There was another whoosh, this one powerful enough that the pews shifted. The smoke shifted and time jumped again, this time there was a fourth person in the room; Luka strut, looking around before he moved a hand, muttering something I couldn't really hear.

Our captors were heaved off their feet and thrown into the ceiling. They stuck there.

He looked at the door for a long moment before he sighed and walked in my direction. He stopped short of reaching the smoke and closed his eyes, his arms spread out at either side of him. I felt another whoosh of wind passing over me and this time I could breathe without the smoke hitting the back of my throat.

But focusing enough for a spell was still hard.

"This is all coming to a head faster than I thought," he said. "I didn't think I'd have to face Dad this soon. Especially since I don't even rightly know if you're going to help me. But I guess a leap of faith is in order."

He took in a large breath before he started reciting a spell, short and quick before he touched my forehead. All at once everything was wiped away and I felt invigorated while Luka faltered, his arms moving to stop him from hitting the ground face first.

I couldn't see the thing around my mouth but I could feel it. I pushed it off of me and the first thing I did was whimper because pulling duct tape off _hurt._

"Fractos," I muttered and there was a snap. I pulled my arms free and glared at my legs next. "Fractos," I said again and the zip ties snapped off.

"Thanks," I muttered, pushing myself off my feet. I held back the impulse to mention that if I were in his position I wouldn't have chosen me as the person to receive the healing, but one of the Salem Witches. Because right now I was at a loss what I needed to do.

I took a breath and focused on the room. The gas was an impurity, _bad._ I held that concept strictly in my mind. I imagined all the badness seeping away, gravity affecting it differently and forcing it upwards and into the second floor of the church.

Power left me, but it wasn't _as_ hard to concentrate this time which meant I could better handle the movement of power. Still, it was slow going, especially since a foreign force was working to get inside.

A part of me thought that perhaps fighting wasn't the best thing to do. But things would be harder from this point on, with the only option left being working with Elijah, and I didn't like that.

Another concept hit, how light interacted with the gas, that if it hit it would be a green colour. Another burst of power and I had to wipe blood away from my nose. But it worked and I could see splotches of green scattered the room, with that identifier, it was easier to pull the gas to the second floor.

"Okay," I muttered. "Okay, path forward."

I didn't feel the pressure from an external attack, which probably meant Mr Martin was resting, preparing for another bout. Elijah would be with him and Andrew could be with him too if I was unlucky, but maybe I could use that. I moved through the church towards the office, I passed by Lucy and she was holding onto her stomach though she was breathing lighter.

"Please tell me you're up," I said.

Slowly she gave a nod. "Vervain laced vampire blood," she whispered. "It's helping, but it's taking longer than regular blood should. That was you?"

"Yeah," I said. "I was hoping you'd waking up and _act."_

She shook her head. "I don't think I can do that," she said, a groan interlaced with the word. "There's just too much pain for me to focus."

"Don't you have protective spells on you? Something to help ease the pain?"

"Protective enchantments aren't the easiest things, hun," she said. "But what I do have on me works best if I die. I think they knew that, or the expected it enough to keep me alive. That's why they haven't wiped us out, I'm sure. How bad are things?"

"Everyone's been taken down, between Vervain and this enchanted object that incapacitates vampires, and the smoke though I've pushed that upstairs. But above all is that Elijah and Mr Martin are outside, breaching my boundary—"

"I get it," she said. "We're in it bad. But you can think your way through this. You're a smart witch even without taking account your powers. Just calm down and think of something. Everyone here trusts you, even if they don't act like it."

I shook my head. "I don't do well under pressure," I said. "I do stupid things."

"We're in a desperate situation," she said. "I don't think doing something stupid will make things worse."

"I don't know what Elijah's plan is," I said. "It could be that he isn't going to kill anyone. That he could just be sending a message."

"But how likely is that? What does that mean for the future? What does that mean when Klaus gets here?"

"I don't know," I said. "It's all a mess, compounded by the fact that too much is happening in too short a space of time. I can't deal with this, especially not alone."

"I don't think you have a choice, there, kid. We need you." She let out a long breath. "Put me to sleep," she said. "It's all I can do to keep functioning with this pain."

I hated it, but I couldn't say no. I touched her head and muttered the sleeping spell. Her breathing got more tranquil and I felt all the more alone.

I stood, feeling out the fear and then pushing it to the side, instead reaching for the anger. I moved to the back of the church and into Pastor Young's office. I pulled through his drawers until I found a knife; moving back to into the main room I put Luka to sleep and then held the knife above him, holding it in place with a spell.

With a glare, bindings snapped off, but I didn't focus on that, instead letting the anger ran through me. The doors flew open as I neared, enough force that they were pulled off their hinges. I walked down the small walkway and stopped at the border.

Elijah stood within a circle, still neatly dressed, and Mr Martins did the same though he looked tired and unkempt.

"Mr Bennett," said Elijah.

The fear tried to take over but I pushed it back, instead letting the anger take more of a hold. I looked past Elijah to Mr Martins.

"As you no doubt know, we have Luka," I said. "I've got a knife hovering over his person, over his left eye, you continue with the spell and I let it drop."

My tone was cold, each word measured and through the anger, the red-tinted world, I was fully prepared to go through with the threat. He recoiled, his expression quickly warping into anger before he schooled it into calm.

"No need to act," I quickly said. "I know you enough to know that you're impulsive under that façade. More than anything right now you want to lash out. I'll say this once, _that would be stupid."_

"I think you're forgetting that your entire family is in one place," said Mr Martins. "You do that, kill Luka, and your only leverage is gone. You do that and I will burn this place to the ground."

I let a smirk grace my expression. "I'm not afraid of death," I said. "Countermeasures are already in place for one thing. But for another, you're forgetting where you are. I die here, then I feel vengeful, my ancestors feel vengeful, and we take all those vengeful feeling out on your son in the Other Side."

His expression flickered, too many things going through for me to accurately read.

"The thing that makes the most of sense is non-action from you," I continued. "I can help in getting your daughter back. I can help you more effectively that Elijah, because unlike him Klaus isn't my brother."

"You do me discredit, Mr Bennett," said Elijah. "You seem to be implying that I would break my word."

"You would," I said, certainty in my voice.

"What do you know that I don't?" said Elijah, interest in his tone.

"Quite a bit I assure you," I said. "But that's neither here nor there. You have choice to make Mr Martins. To trust a man who's family motto is 'always and forever.' A person who's forgiven his brother for far worse than this?"

"Or should I trust you, a manipulator?" said Mr Martin.

"That's the thing though, isn't it? I manipulate and I think I do it well. But the common point in all this is that I don't lie. I might hide things, information, after all, is power. But when I say something, it's always true." I looked him dead in the eyes. "When the time comes, you won't get what you want and given the choice, Elijah will choose his brother."

I was surprised that Elijah hadn't said anything and looking at his expression he had the most _intrigued_ expression I'd ever seen, his eyes working as though he was trying to work something out.

He wasn't the focus, though. Mr Martins was, because though Elijah could probably punch his way through given enough time. Mr Martins would be able to do it faster and he'd be harder to fight when it came down to it.

He looked conflicted, looking between me and Elijah at times as he considered the path forward. I really hoped that this wouldn't turn out into a fight. Even with all the bravado I wasn't that good at a fight, I'd noticed that from Bree and the hunters that had attacked me, more especially I'd noticed it when Andrew and I had had a little spat. If he had really been gunning to kill me he would have succeeded.

Mr Martins would be several leagues more knowledgeable and thus several leagues more powerful.

"Luka," said Mr Martins, a hint of desperation in his voice. "How did you capture him?"

There was a cadence to the way he asked the question and I wasn't the only one who detected it. Elijah turned away from me and looked at Mr Martin.

"I think you already know the answer," I said. Mr Martin let out a sigh and moved his fingers; Elijah teleported and grabbed the hand, squeezing it. There was a snap as the man's hand broke.

Mr Martins moved to speak but Elijah had already moved: A hand stretched out and covering Mr Martins' mouth. Elijah glared in Mr Martin's direction and I could see the unadulterated fear that shone through the man's eyes.

Elijah gave a little push and the man stumbled back.

"And I will make it a reality," said Elijah. He turned to face me. "As useful as you could be, Mr Bennett, keeping you around is not worth the trouble. Kill him."

Mr Martins steeled himself before he spoked, arms stretching out and eyes closed.

"I will kill your son!" I said, but the anger was weening out and the fear was there. My mind was reeling from the fact that I would have to kill a potential ally, that I would even do this; in its panic mind might sought to figure out the morality of the situation and whether I'd be able to live with myself if I killed Luka and then somehow survived this.

My mind worked on every possible situation except how to get away from this one. Mr Martins continued, blood pouring out of his eyes, nose and ears, draping his face. The pressure around me increased while my mind continued to shout about how wrong this was and how I was supposed to have won.

I knew the _future_ and aspects of the past and it all amounted to nothing because Elijah was smarter. I shook my head. It couldn't be like this. I had to figure out a way to win this because even though I could probably get out of the Other Side, I didn't want to die just yet.

 _Think._

More pressure around me.

 _Think._

I could feel the damage in my barrier, concentrated in one point.

 _Think._

"I know where the place of power is!" I shouted at Elijah. "I've bound it in a blessing so powerful that its unlikely anyone but me could break it."

"Or your sister," said Elijah.

I shook my head. "That's not how magic works. Every spell is different because of who casts it. I cast the spell, I know how much power I put in places and where its weak points are. I'm the only reliable witch who could break it."

Elijah shook his head. "I'll take my chances."

"But will you?" I said. "When Klaus…" An idea. I turned and ran into the church, finding Elena. She was one of the few people that were awake, trying to cajole others into doing the same thing.

"I need the locket," I said.

"What? Why?"

" _Please,"_ I said, desperation in my voice. I hadn't used its power since connecting with my ancestors and had given it back to Elena. She reached under her shirt and pulled it out, giving it to me.

I took hold of and started muttering a Tracking spell under my breath, pushing power through the thread and moving along it. There was a barrier, but I pushed more energy into it and weaselled my way through; an image hit, a truck moving down a winding road. I pushed more power into it and the image of the witch hit me.

He was sitting beside a woman with curly hair.

They both looked up in my direction and immediately I could feel a thread shooting, running parallel my own thread. I didn't fight it and felt as it slammed through the boundary and making it fall apart, and then hit me with the strong image that someone was looking at me.

I started running out of the church, feeling as the sense that I was being watched followed.

They would have seen Elena and now they saw Elijah.

Mr Martins strode forward, a spell already being recited. I ignored him and looked at Elijah.

"I've bumped up the timeline," I said. "Klaus now knows that you're here. You have no choice but to work with me."

Elijah gave me a smug smile. "You have no idea the hell you've unleashed on Mystic Falls," he said.

"I do," I said under my breath. But this was my only way not to die.

"Don't kill him," said Elijah to Mr Martins. "But a message needs to be sent. Resistance in any form will be punished." Elijah disappeared and appeared again in front of me, holding Jeremy by the throat; with one motion he punched and even through his dazed stated I could see Jeremy react.

It didn't last too long because Elijah pulled. All the life left Jeremy, his skin turning grey and lines drawing themselves all through his face. Elijah threw Jeremy's body to the side and then showed me his heart.

"Your gift, Mr Bennett, for thinking you could ever go against me."

My body moved of its own volition, taking the offered heart. Feeling it in my hands I could feel as bile started to churn its way up my throat, my legs giving out and the world around me tilting.

There was a flash of anger, of desperation and just as quickly all of it washed away into nothing but a dull melancholy.

 _Every fight and all of them take something away. Grams. Dad and Jeremy's humanity. The lives of all those who'd been turned by Damon's machinations. What's worse, this isn't the end._

 _After this there'll be another fight and someone else could be taken away. And then there'll be another and then another and then another._

 _Maybe…maybe it isn't worth fighting. Maybe just giving them what they want is the best way. Making sure that my family, friends and I don't have to go through this_ hell.

I didn't know how I would be moving forward, but I knew one thing. I didn't want to lose anyone again, and what was worse I already had a plan to make sure that didn't happen.

888

AN: A part of me feels like Luka might have been a Deus Ex Machina. But before posting this I hoped on over to TV Tropes and under the technical specifications, it's not. Still the feeling lingers


	24. Chapter 24

2-11

The wall was pleasing.

It was odd that it was the first time I was noticing it, but then I'd always been distracted. At the centre was a window that looked out into the grounds, a picturesque image of students sitting on the grass chatting, studying and a few even with instruments out. The latter would be more annoying to me, but so far away from it all, I could appreciate the aesthetic of the entirety of the scene.

Moving _in_ and there was stuff bordering the window; two landscapes at either sight, one a dark forest while the other showed a stormy sea. Under both the paintings were four smaller, square shaped, pieces of art with symbols on them.

All of this was brought together by the muted colour of the wall on which everything hung. A colour that was somewhere in the middle between beige and puce. Dark enough that the overall theme could be felt, but with a lightness to the colour that made me think that it didn't want anyone to get sucked into the sombre nature of it.

"You're going to have to speak at some point," said Professor Shane and the image broke. All at once I was aware of where I was and why I was here: The image replayed in my mind and with it was the utter sense of hopelessness.

I let out a long breath, closing my eyes as the emotions worked up to reach a crescendo. I sucked in a breath and it was jerky, too sudden and too forceful, as though my body had entirely forgotten how to breathe. Above it all my eyes were _burning._

Jeremy. _Dead._

It was one thing to think that there were countermeasures, that I could lift the veil with sufficient effort, but another thing entirely when I'd watched as my best friend was killed in front of me.

I let out another long breath, then breathed in, slower this time, _forcing_ my body to listen to me. I let that task becoming my centre, letting everything else bleed away as I focused solely on breathing.

"It helps to talk," said Professor Shane, breaking me out of the forced tranquillity.

"Talking isn't going to bring my friend back," I said, resentment and anger driving forward before they quickly petered out. Feeling angry helped nothing except make things worse. I could already picture it, me doing something else stupid and this time Bonnie or Enzo or Jared being the ones to be killed.

"No," said Professor Shane, "it isn't. But that's not what this is about. This about you and dealing with one amongst a series of traumatic events." He took a breath, leaning forward and levelling a sympathetic expression at me. "Things like this often break people if they don't work through them."

"Like you?" I said. There was no anger, just the need for him to be quiet, to stop _forcing_ me to deal with something I didn't want to. "Killing people to get your wife back?"

"You're pushing me away," said the Professor. "This isn't something you want to deal with yet."

I snorted at that. "That's not a push," I said, a smirk gracing my expression. My emotions were all centred in my stomach, all of them bad and mixing into something ugly. I couldn't win against them and here he was, Professor Shane, a person I could still hurt without repercussions.

Except that wasn't entirely true, was it?

I stopped my mouth, clamping it down and biting my tongue as it was about to say, _A push would be telling you that it ultimately amounted to nothing. All those people you killed. All those machinations. All that and even the visions of your wife weren't real. Only Silas playing with you like the pawn you are._

I looked to my right. There was a cupboard there and it was filled with all sorts of trinkets: A statue of an African mask, a part of me knew it belonged in the Central African region; a too realistic doll that made my core shake when I looked at it too long; the skin of an albino snake; a shrunken monkey's head; and a few small weapons.

The bottom of the cupboard had doors on it with large and bulky chains. So strange that I hadn't noticed all of this. Could it be a spell, or was it because I was so good at looking where I was going that I missed everything on the way side?

I glanced at my watch it was late in the afternoon, nearing evening. Two hours ago, my best friend had been killed and after recovering enough, my father had taken me while the discussions with Elijah were still on going in Mystic Falls. My phone had been taken away and I could guess that someone was making sure that I wasn't using a Tracking spell to watch over things.

Not that I would. I didn't really feel like it.

I forced my mind away from that and focused instead on the time.

"Our session's over," I said, coming to a stand. "Thank you for your time, Professor."

He nodded. "Though I'd prefer it if we had more sessions in a week," he said. "Three instead of one. At least until…"

"I'll tell Dad," I said and then turned and left. Enzo was waiting for me outside. He was shifting a little as he looked around, maybe it was being in Whitmore again or the fact that he might still have Vervain in his system. I didn't put the effort into figuring it out.

"Where's Dad?" I asked.

"He left. Bonnie's too close to Elijah for his liking," he said.

I nodded, but I couldn't help thinking that it would help. If Elijah wanted to kill my sister then he would just do it, much like he'd done so with Jeremy.

Enzo and I stood there, the both of quiet before I started walking, heading towards the car. Enzo followed, getting into the driver's seat. He didn't start the car, instead sitting in silence for a long moment before the car started and he started driving.

The road started to blur as he drove, more winding than it should have been but I didn't pay it any attention, instead watching as late afternoon turned into evening. I watched how the sun was setting, the red and orange stretching out, darker colours closing in on the fading warmth of the sun.

Enzo stopped and I became aware that we were in the middle of the woods and it was dark save for the headlights. I looked at Enzo but he was already getting out. He teleported and was at my side of the door just as his door shut. He opened it and I exited, following as we walked deeper into the woods. He stopped in a patch that looked no different than the others.

"What now?" I said.

"Now you scream," he said and then he was gone, leaving me surrounded by darkness.

Left alone, the emotions started doubling back, the anger and the fear and the desperation and the guilt and everything else mixing into a ball of ugliness that I pushed out as I _screamed._ I felt as the world around me exploded, trees shattering with a myriad of cracks, the ground starting to shake and a burst of wind erupting around me.

The scream stretched on, splitting the patch apart and decimating the clearing, pushing everything back and away. I felt as energy rushed out and I pulled in more energy, feeling the earth vibrating around me, the sound of a crackle fire, the wind surging inward and the rushing sound of water. It felt painful, having the element running through me all at once but I could ignore it because that pain was nothing compared to losing Jeremy.

There was crack and the wood was alight, a fire breaking out and spreading out much faster than it should have. The thing _devoured,_ taking in the air, taking in the trees and it got larger; trees cracked, water spraying out but that seemed to feed the fire even more, pushing it to consume.

And then, it was all over, the fire gone.

Me, on my knees, with the ugliness gone and the only emotion remaining the _badness_ of loss.

888

Enzo and I didn't go back to Mystic Falls, instead we spent the night in a motel. Sleeping hadn't been the best thing even though I'd been tired, especially since my mind had chosen instead to convince me that Jeremy was alive, that the waking world had been a dream. All of it to hit me hard when I finally woke.

I ate the offered breakfast from Enzo, letting myself wallow in the badness, hoping that I could ride it out and it would eventually go away. But it didn't. Six hours spent with the badness in my stomach, sometimes shifting into _terribleness_ before it reverted to badness and I couldn't take it all.

"Turn me into a vampire," I said, breaking a silence that had settled. Enzo looked in my direction. "Please. I don't want to feel like this."

"You want to switch off your humanity," he said. "Micah—"

"Don't tell me that I'll regret it," I said, interrupting. "Don't tell me about the future when I'm feeling like this _now._ I want these feelings to go away," I said, my voice starting to break and the burn in my eyes getting fiercer.

"But you will," he said. "Micah. You _can_ bring him back. You said it before. If you turn into a vampire—"

"It's not that simple!" I said. "It's not just me saying the right spell and everything working out. It's…complicated. I'd have to set things up. I'd have to push things faster. I'd have try and be smarter than all the variables that I'll be working with and I'd be doing all of that while distracted by this badness, while being weak."

"And you think you'll be stronger if you're a vampire?" said Enzo. "Micah, don't be stupid. Think about all the power you'd just be washing away. You can _create._ You can bend reality itself to your whims. Being a vampire is nothing compared to that."

"And how has that helped anyone?" I shouted, heat touching my voice. "How did it help Grams with she was killed? What did it mean when I was captured by Bree? What did it mean now? I couldn't do _anything_ as Elijah killed him. I had all this power, this knowledge; I _knew_ what he was going to do and yet I couldn't do anything. I'm weak and I want to be strong."

"Then become strong," he said. "You have your ancestors. You've still got time before the Martins are ready to accept the power from the witches, you could work quickly and form a link, accepting that power—"

"It still wouldn't be worth much," I said, shaking my head. "There are still three people in my coven. That sort of power…" I shook my head again. "But even then, going against Elijah. You saw what he did. What would he do if I rebelled again."

I couldn't help it, tears were starting to stream out. "This is all my fault. If I wasn't here then things would have been better. Jeremy would be alive."

Enzo shook his head. "You can't think that."

"I _can,"_ I said. "Because it's true." I wiped away the tears. "If I wasn't here. If I wasn't born, then things would have been vastly different. Jeremy would be alive right now. If I wasn't alive, I know that, no matter how bad things were, they would turn out alright. That no matter what threat everyone would be fine.

"But I'm here and that changes things. I was fucking born and that pushed the universe to react. Events changed way back before I was born, all of them pushing to this." I ran a hand through my hair. "I'm the worst thing to have ever happened to this universe."

Enzo wrapped me in a hug and I couldn't hold back the tears, the snort, how my throat hitched as it tried to get in air while also crying. But he didn't say anything.

888

"You should be with Elena," I said, my voice was hoarse and my eyes were puffy. Bonnie had arrived at some point during the night, probably when I had fallen asleep, and joined me in my bed.

"I think I've been with Elena long enough," she said. Her eyes were puffy too and she looked as though she hadn't slept that much.

"She lost her brother," I said.

"So did you," she answered. She was quiet looking at me before she said, "Enzo told me what you said." I felt a pit in my stomach. "That if you feel like if you weren't born things would have been better."

"I don't feel," I said. "I _know."_

"I don't think you do," said Bonnie. "I'm not as smart as you, at least not in the same way you are…but I'm smart in my own right." She swallowed. "I've been compiling a mental list of how your abilities works, or at least how your ability works. Knowledge, spread out over past and future, with blind spots where you and other clairsentients are. I could never get the full image until know.

"I kept asking, did you know the perfect future? Even researched a little how time worked to figure it out. It's supposed to be fixed, unable to be changed unless the branches of time theory is true. But, all of it gave me a headache when I tried to predict how your ability factored into all of it. Except you've just given me the final piece.

"Your ability," she said. "It allows you to see into a timeline where you weren't born in. How things would spread out, that sort of thing and that's the bases of your ability. But it's not just you, is it? It's the other blind spots, the other clairsentients. They weren't there too, in that timeline."

She sighed before she said, "This isn't all on you, Mike. It can't be all on you. You didn't choose all this. You didn't choose to get born. You didn't choose to get your ability. You just played the hand you were dealt."

"Except I did," I said. "Choose all this." I wanted to explain but I couldn't, to explain to Bonnie the nature of the universe would be disastrous. But even so the guilty was there, tied to the nebulous feeling that in a past life I'd longed to live in this world.

"Things are going to work out," said Bonnie. "We'll figure a way out of this."

I gave a her a smile, though I didn't feel it. I couldn't see how we'd get out of this, especially with Klaus so close.

888

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry."

I flinched as she neared, expecting a slap, for fists to pound into me because I'd killed her brother. Instead Elena hugged. The tears started again and for a while I couldn't do anything.

Hours passed when we finally disentangled ourselves. For a long moment Elena looked at me before she looked down.

"I want him to feel the same pain we're feeling right now," she whispered.

I didn't want to go against Elijah again. But the guilt was there and the anger took the chance to get a footing, making the world turn red around the edges.

I nodded and took her hand. "I promise."


	25. Chapter 25

2-12

"This is a bad idea," said Lucy.

I was still tired. After talking with Elena, it felt as though there was some drive behind me, that, even if I couldn't reach for the anger and ride it, I could still use the promise to keep on moving. But even with that there was the monumental task still ahead of me.

Elijah and then Klaus; bringing Jeremy back from the Other Side; and then curing the world of death. The last seemed the most important in the shorter term but it would take the most amount of forethought, positioning things right and learning to do something I'd never really been good at: Playing chess.

We were in Grams' place with Lucy and her coven sitting around enjoying a cup of tea, though the term was used relatively. At my side were Bonnie and Dad, and sitting parallel to the two groups was Elijah, sitting stiffly and watching all of us. It made me wonder the plans he had in motion, because being so close to us, it would be the easiest thing to capture him in a Boundary spell.

But that he was here at all spoke that he was sure that his plan would work.

"I think it is," I said, my voice sounding hoarse. I'd been screaming not a day ago and yet there was still damage to my throat. Enzo had recommended that I drink his blood to heal the damage, but I liked the pain. It helped in reinforcing the emotional pain I felt, made it more tangible.

"But do we really have another option?" I said, interrupting what she'd been about to say. "By staying here, you might get ideas." I shook my head. "I don't want that. Against him, we can't win."

Lucy quickly shot a glance at Elijah before looking at me. She wanted to say something, but that Elijah was here meant she couldn't. That's what I was worried about, that she'd do something I couldn't predict and whatever plans I had in the works would be ruined.

I didn't have a plan on moving forward yet, but before that, I knew that I had to have a measure of control over the situation. I was working against people that were more powerful than me and smarter than me in many ways, but I still knew the future, and that had to count for something. But knowing the future only counted for something so long as there were the same variables here than had been in the future, which meant _this,_ pushing people away.

"You're still doing it," I said, voice calm. "That you're hiding something is sign that you're trying to work through a plan. Figure out the correct combination of spells that could take him down."

Lucy's expression flickered. I'd hit the mark.

Again, I slowly shook my head. "Elijah knows," I said, commenting on the slightly incredulous expression from the others. The badness in my stomach rolled, becoming _more_ as I said, "Jeremy said something while at the church. Or at least he did something which he explained through YouTube. I didn't get it then but my mind's been in this loop—" I sighed, cutting of the thread of thought.

"All of it cut short. Elijah's probably using his senses to his best advantage. Hearing the changing of your heart rate, watching the minute shifts in your expression to _read_ you. It's what Jeremy did and he was relatively on the young side, it's the smart thing for one of the oldest vampires in the world to be able to do."

"If that's the case," said Jasper, leaning forward. All at once the incredulity became anger. "You've given up, haven't you. You're cowing down to the likes of him?"

"Yes," I said. "Like I said. We can't win. All we can do at this point is mitigate the amount of people that are killed. That's what I'll be aiming for. That's what I'm doing now."

"Fuck," he said and he shot to his feet. "I thought you actually would be _something._ Hearing how they talked about you, I thought you'd be a prodigy of magic. I thought you'd change the world and yet…I thought the Bennett men were actually supposed to commend respect."

I shrugged. "You have an image of your head. Passed down through stories you've heard. You want me to measure up to that. But I don't need or want to. I don't have _that_ image, but I have _an_ image and me politely requesting you leave my town is part and parcel of that."

He looked like he wanted to say something too before Amber took his wrist. He calmed down at that, his anger dissipating.

"Fine," said Lucy, a sigh behind the words. "But…we're family. If you need help, just ask." I gave her a nod. Lucy got up with a huff. "If this is deciding, then, we'll be leaving. Mom should be happy to have the coven at full strength at any rate. Hug before I go?"

"No," said Elijah. We looked in his direction at that. "You're planning something. Don't do it or I might be forced to kill a person in this room."

"As I said," I put in, letting out a tired sigh.

Lucy, looking deflated, left at that point, taking her coven with her. Bonnie, Dad, Elijah and I watched as she got into her car and started driving off. Elijah disappeared soon after and if I were to guess he wanted to make sure that they were really leaving town.

"I don't think I like this," said Dad. "I'm with Lucy on this. Working with _him."_

"We're still being watched, Dad," said Bonnie. "The Martins took clumps of hair from us. Even now I can feel the energy moving through their connection to us."

Dad let out something close to a snarl. "So what, we can't ever talk about anything anymore?"

"Not something that might cause Elijah to act against us, no," I said. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "When we were working on the blessing we didn't entirely work on it to break, did we?"

"That was the point, wasn't it?" said Bonnie. "That it doesn't break. That's why it's configured the way it is." She looked at me, still that sympathy in her eyes which immediately sparked memories of Elijah ripping out Jeremy's heart.

"That was the point," I said, giving a mental shove to the thought process. "We'll have to go and talk to Jared. Figure out how we'll move forward. Probably we'll need Andrew's help too because he's the better of us to work with connections."

"The Martins could mean we do this faster," said Bonnie and then she shook her head. "But then, this is derivative of a spell. Us working with them would mean they can steal the spell from us."

I gave her a nod. "Dad. You should meet with the Allied Council, make sure that no one gets any stupid ideas. Elijah's smart and I feel like the thing that…" I took a breath. "The thing that happened at the chest was just him proving a point. That we can't win against him. Which means that there are a lot more people under his thrall."

"You think we might get attacked?" Dad asked.

I nodded. "Human nature. It's hard sometimes to see beyond what's in front of us. People might be thinking that if they take away Elijah's people then he's easier to take. But beyond them is that fact that Elijah's a powerhouse. He's old enough that he's might have the strongest healing rate save his brothers and sister and father."

"I get it," said Dad. "Even though you feel the need to keep reinforcing it. We can't win."

"We can't," I said. At least not yet. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet, but if I was fighting against Originals, then I would need the daggers that had been forged to put them to sleep and a lot of White Oak ash.

Nodded. "You two will be safe alone?" he said.

Bonnie nodded. "Klaus won't be here for a while. We're being watched by the Martins and the large fact that we can protect ourselves. We'll be safe."

Dad nodded, though the worried expression didn't abate. He moved disappeared. Not getting into a car but running the way there. I could image the act was more therapeutic than driving a car, while running he had to focus on something else while driving a car he'd be forced to _deal._

"It'll be better if we wait for Elijah to get back before we head over to Jared's," I said as we walked into the house, Bonnie closing the door behind us. "It's best if he doesn't think we're plotting."

"I'm sure he's thinking that," she said. "I'm sure everyone is thinking that with your track record."

"I keep thinking that," I said. "That maybe if I knew the right things, I might leverage them the right way. But…" I shook my head. "I don't know what I could do in this situation. This is worse than when Anna compelled people. We were lucky that she hadn't spread her net wider. The sum luck is probably not here now."

Bonnie gave me a hug. "Everything will work out," she said. "This will be over and then we'll have our lives back."

I gave her a nod. "It'll be a spat at worst," I said. "We just have to ride it out. Hopefully, whoever wins, they'll leave."

Bonnie frowned before she said. "You really think Elijah will forgive Klaus?"

"He will," I said. "That I'm certain about. No matter what Klaus does, his siblings find it within themselves to forgive each other."

"But, this is something else," said Bonnie. She started putting on another cup of tea as I sat, watching everything and taking it in. Distracting myself in taking in the dimensions of the kitchen. "Dropping the other siblings in the middle of the ocean."

"I think you're looking at it from the wrong perspective," I said. "Elijah's given up on finding them, which means Klaus has put on a Cloaking spell so good that Elijah hasn't been able to find them in the period since they've disappeared. The only sibling Elijah's had in that time, the only person from his period, is Klaus. Imagine how much strength it would take to kill him?"

I shook my head. "I don't think he'll be able to go through with it. My prediction on this is that Elijah will put on a show. It will be convincing and, if Klaus buys it and is on the losing side, he'll leverage the details of the Cloaking spell to continue living. But stretched further, knowing Klaus, he'll work so that Elijah's weapon is done away with."

"The Martins," said Bonnie.

I nodded. "The Martins. They'll die at the end of all this, that I'm sure about."

"Bleak," said Bonnie. "I don't like them. But I can understand where they're coming from and what they're working towards and that they'll—"

I felt a flicker in the connection, as though it was interrupted before my phone buzzed. Luka's name on the display. I answered it, putting it on speaker.

"You have my attention," he said, his voice shaky. "I'll assume that that was what that entire spiel."

"Yes," I said. "The game's still on. Help me and I'll make sure you're better off in the long term."

"You say that, but you lost," said Luka. "Dad tells me that you held my life as leverage even with how I gave you the opportunity to come out of this ahead."

"It's not that easy," I said. "You know this. You're a witch and if it were that easy, you would have taken care of him yourself, especially when he hurt your Dad. But you haven't. This is…We're wasting too much time. I'm going to throw your father under the bus."

I dropped the line before he could continue.

"This is dangerous," Bonnie said as I flipped through my phone, finding Lucy's number and calling. I gave her an errant nod.

"Tell me what you need?" she said.

"To be put on speaker," I said. "Elijah's probably still following you and I need you to send him a message."

"You're on," she said.

"Elijah. You might not need to know this but I do this so you know that I'm working for you," I said. "Mr Martin just interrupted the connection to the spell and I think he might have been up for making a deal. Do with that what you will. Thanks, Lucy."

"Not a problem, kid," she said and I dropped the line.

As if to punctuate the play, the connection chose that moment to reform. I put my phone and stared at it for a long moment, spending the time letting the vague ideas I had roll around in my head, hoping that they would come together into something concrete.

I wanted to hurt Elijah. But the only true way of doing that would be to go against Klaus and that was a nasty game to play.

Everything, it seemed, was going to be complicated.

I took a breath and got up, going into the motions of preparing coffee and tea for Bonnie and me. When I sat back down the two of us just stared at each other, Bonnie focused more on her tea than anything I could see.

"We'll have to set up an official story about Jeremy's disappearance," she finally said. "Jenner's thinking about a funeral."

I shook my head. "Once all of this is over I'll work at bringing him back," I said. All at once it was though I could feel a dozen voices screaming in unison, _NO._ "And I'm not going to listen to that."

"The ancestors?" said Bonnie.

I gave her a nod. "They're refusing me bringing Jeremy back. But I won't listen. This is me making enemies, but, to whomever is listen, you stand at a crossroad. On one hand, you lose access to the loophole I provide, that is, the father to all future male Bennett who'll be able to perform magic, or you can give me what I want."

 _NO._

"Then so be it," I said. I closed my eyes and focused, feeling out the connection and then pulling. The Bennett family grimoires flew into the room, three grimoires in total though the third was on the thin side. There were in four, two belonging to dead witches while the other two belonged to me and Bonnie, but I didn't have need for Bonnie's grimoire.

"By day's end I'll have a spell set up that will bind my sperm to my body—"

"Eww," said Bonnie. "Filter yourself, please. Somethings I don't need to know."

"Sorry," I said with a grin. I picked up the three books and moved into the living room, picking up a pencil and starting to look over boundary spells. There was the risk that the Martins were looking over the spells and recording them, but there really wasn't much I could do and until Elijah arrived we couldn't get to Jared and start finding ways to undo the Blessing.

Hours passed with me focusing on drawing how the boundary spell would work, letting my mind roam when there was a knock on our door. Bonnie was the one who went to open it. I held my breath, waiting for Elijah to have arrived but it wasn't, instead it was Elena, Caroline, Matt, Tyler, Jared and Luka, and they'd bought food.

"What's he doing here?" I asked.

"I told him that we were having a small memorial," said Bonnie. "Elijah's still out of town which means we need to be watched by someone. As much as you, I don't want to get on Elijah's bad side."

"Here, here," said Matt.

I gave an errant nod. "Smart thinking." Luka shifted, a scowl directed in my direction as he moved past the others, who were also shooting scowls in his direction, and moved to the kitchen.

"I don't know about the rest of you," said Tyler. An image hit me, Tyler drinking and drinking and drinking in a continuous loop. "But I'm looking to get drunk. Mike?"

I nodded and he threw. I caught it with my powers, taking a sip of the awfully sour liquid. It was a messy affair, filled with a lot of drinking from my end, a lot of reminiscing about Jeremy and getting lost in all of this. For a moment I forgot to watch, to think about the future, instead listening to all the sides of Jeremy that I had missed.

Then, all at once, I felt the drunken haze lift while Matt shook. I remembered for the first time that he hadn't been drinking. Slowly and carefully he got to his feet, though his still stumbled a little at the small motion.

"I think I should retire for the night," he slurred, stumbling a little forward.

"I'll help you up," said Bonnie who was considerably better.

The moment she had gone upstairs Luka walked in from the kitchen. "The spell should last for fifteen minutes at the most," he said. "I've transplanted the spell Dad and I cast on you, so too with your inebriated state."

"What about Elijah?" I asked.

Luka held out his hand a rolled-up map flew in from the kitchen. He opened it to its full length and it showed a small marble slowly rolled through it. When I looked closer, he was still moving away from Mystic Falls.

"Elijah's got it in his head that the greatest threat right now is Lucy and the Salem coven," said Luka. "He's right, of course, even with Dad's resources and the work Elijah's put in play, this could be a troublesome to say the least. He wants to make sure that they don't cloak themselves the first chance they get and start working in the shadows."

"Because that would be good for us," Tyler muttered. "Please tell me you have something up your sleeve."

"You're a connection specialist, right?" I said to Luka. He gave me a nod. "Do you think it's possible to track all the people Elijah's compelled in town?"

Luka shook his head. "Compulsion is weak in the general scheme," he said. "It's a periphery thread that can't sustain having magic running through it. I could fortify it, but I'm sure Elijah knows this and he's seeded false compulsions for this very purpose."

"Not mentioning that the guy's _old,_ " I said. "He's probably got countless running compulsions as we speak." I let out a long sigh, running a hand over my face. "What does Elijah have on your father? I managed to convince him that I'd be able to help and he was about to attack Elijah when he showed your father something."

"Me and my sister dying," said Luka, swallowing. "He's got a network of people compelled so that if things don't go right, they'll work towards killing me and my sister."

"Okay," I said. I pulled Grams' grimoire and flipped through until I found a spell to Link one's life force to another. "You'll have to cast this when you get the opportunity, on a vampire or a series of vampires. I'll also ask that you do the same for me, Elena, Jared and Bonnie. It might be better if we established a network."

"That's too many people," said Luka. "I wouldn't be able to do that on my own. Dad isn't will to do anything that'll put him and me in danger. The only way I'm here is because it's something Elijah would agree with."

"Except if you join the coven," said Jared. "I'll talk my brother into seeding as well. He can use school as a cover."

"Can we trust your brother?" I asked.

Jared nodded. "They put me in a coma," he said. "Andrew's pissed about that. Because no matter what you've done, at least you wilfully put me in harm's way."

"Then that's an avenue," I said. "We need to quickly counter all of Elijah's leverage and the largest amongst them is that he could kill anyone of us."

"Torture's still something he could do," said Tyler.

I let out a huffed breath. "That I can't help with," I said. "But if we work fast enough it shouldn't matter. Elijah's working on a time limit, by throwing your father under the bus I've ensure that the number of people that Elijah can trust is diminishing. He's smart, he'll realise this too, so there'll most likely be another set of witches that'll arrive to take the power from the site.

"He'll say that he's thinking about you and your father. Citing that _that_ much power would kill the both of you. But the true reason is that he doesn't want the power to be turned against him when you receive it. He knows you're both powerful and that's scary."

"More witches," muttered Tyler. "We couldn't deal with _them_. Can we deal with others?"

I shook my head. "Which is the reason things should move so quickly," I said. "Jared. You'll connect Luka to our source of power. Your brother too if he wants in. Then you'll get to work linking our lives. You'll find the stock of vampires in the Tomb."

Jared nodded.

"Me?" said Tyler.

"I need you to talk to Josephine. She had a conversation with Elijah, I'd like to know what they talked about. And I need you to move faster in marrying her. Klaus will be here soon. I want to use the wolves as a way of showing Klaus that she doesn't necessarily need Elena to break the spell."

"He doesn't?" said Elena.

"Not necessarily," I repeated. The wording was a stretch and I could see that they knew the same. I let out a breath. "But Klaus will likely not believe me if I don't have a working hybrid."

"Be more cold about it, why don't you?" Tyler muttered.

I shrugged. "I think we have two days," I said. "Whoever Elijah's calling in should take at least that long to get here. Elijah himself should be here by day's end and Lucy and the Salem coven should be here round about the same time."

"They're coming back?" said Luka. "I thought you sent them away."

"Throwing your Dad under the bus showed that I was still fighting," I told him. "Lucy knows that I can't fight this on my own and I'll need her back. She'll be working in the shadows when she gets back, scouring the compulsion network Elijah has."

"You can't be sure of that, though," said Luka. "If there's one thing I'm starting to get about your ability is that it doesn't give you clear-cut information. You have to make a lot of inferences. Inferences that you don't hide in the way you speak."

"I also make sure to make a lot of plans that make sure that those inferences are right," I said. "Like telling Enzo everything that I have planned and have him working in the shadows too. Unfortunately it means my dragon will be out of town for as long as it takes to get this sorted."

"That'll be suspicious," said Tyler.

"I know," I said. But I'd already won in that regard. A boundary spell had been set up in the house, abstract in quality and meaning I could control it within certain limits. Elijah could tell a lie by someone's heart and their facial ticks, which was the reason I'd put on a mask since the day had started.

Light bending awkwardly so that my face was always passive, and my heart beating in a lethargic drone that showed little in the way of panic. I couldn't use it to achieve the same effect with anyone else, especially without knowing what they were going to do beforehand, but I could use it on myself and that mattered.

Luka's watch beeped. "You should go to your room," he said. "The spell on you and Matt should disappear in two minutes."

"How are we going to do the switch?" I asked. "Isn't it going to be suspicious Matt walking into my room while I'm drunk?"

"It'll be okay," said Luka as he stood. "You'd better get up there."

I did as Luka said, lumbering upstairs, past Bonnie and into bed. Matt got out, stumbled towards the door and then, as he opened it, the state hit me all at once and it was all I could do not to upchuck. My body wanted to sleep and I didn't hold the impulse back. I'd have more time to think tomorrow, and hopefully things would have better fallen into place.


End file.
